Jerry Lane Eller of Delmar, Delaware received the call to go home on Sunday, May 17, 2026. He was surrounded by loving family as he left us to join his family and friends on the other side for a perfect reunion. Born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina to the late J. Lance and Georgie Combs Eller, Jerry was ready to take the trip after a long fight through three cancers and heart disease.
Despite his many health challenges, grateful is a word that Jerry often used to describe his feelings about his life. Blinded in his left eye by an operation as a child, Jerry persevered and led a full life. He remained grateful for the sight that he had remaining. His cancers and heart disease were obstacles to overcome. Often, he mentioned that he was grateful for having loved two women that he was fortunate to call his wives. He was grateful that he had healthy children who were able to function well in society. Also, he was grateful that his grandchildren were healthy and finding their way in the world. Not least of all, he was grateful for the wonderful staff that he was fortunate to have working with him at Eller Tire Company. He often said he would never have been successful without them.
Jerry’s early childhood was characterized by multiple relocations as his father moved the family constantly while building a construction business. At one point, before settling in Onley, Va., Jerry had attended 11 elementary schools across Pennsylvania and Maryland. As a result, the teachers missed the fact that his language arts skills had not developed. While he excelled in math, he had missed some of his formative language and phonics education from having moved so frequently. Despite those obstacles, Jerry went on to graduate from Fork Union Military Academy, and after marrying his high school sweetheart, Linda Robbins, he founded Eller Tire Company.
The experience of having teachers overlook his early education formed the cornerstone of one of his passions later in life – that his children’s education would be better than his, that it would be consistent and meet their needs completely. If you wanted to understand Jerry’s passions in life, they were his family, his faith, and his love for taking something that looked like it was beyond redemption and bringing it back to life – be it an old home, a piece of furniture, or a garden patch.
Jerry was happiest if he was in his garden, or if he was restoring an old piece of furniture or any object he identified as being a hidden treasure. His last year of life kept him from being in his shop or garden. His lament as spring approached was that he wasn’t going to get to plant his wife’s beloved flowers. In March, when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be in the garden, he said rather forlornly, “My peas should be up by now.”
Jerry was predeceased by his parents, J. Lance and Georgie Combs Eller; his first wife, Linda Robbins Eller; his brother, Max Eller; and his sister, Bobbi Mullins. Remaining to cherish his memory are his current wife, Fay Ellis Jones-Eller; his son, J. Lance Eller of Melfa, Va.; daughter, Susan Eller Smith (David) of Kodiak, Alaska; and grandchildren, Joseph Eller of Melfa, Va., Christen Eller of St. Petersburg, Fla., Zachary Smith of Kodiak, Alaska, Emily Smith of Kodiak, Alaska, and Joshua Smith of Anchorage, Alaska; his brother, Randy Eller (Ruth) of Roanoke, Va.; as well as his nieces, nephews and several cousins, with whom he shared a special bond. Jerry also leaves behind several friends with whom he traveled through life. And finally, he leaves behind his pets who miss him terribly.
To honor Jerry’s wishes, services will be conducted from the graveside at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, in Onancock, Va., on Thursday May 28, at 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his memory to St. Mark’s Episcopal Churchyard Fund, J. Theodore Jenkins, Treasurer, 610 Ridge Road, Salisbury, MD 21801 or The Brandywine Valley SPCA, 22918 Dupont Blvd., Georgetown, DE 19947-8803.
Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.