Jerry Frith had a choice of two jobs at North American Aviation: wash the F-100s being assembled or join a riveting team. He chose the latter, then set his sights on becoming an engineer.
"He just took a few courses at the local community college on drafting and things like that," said Ruth Frith, his wife of 55 years. "He had no formal engineering training. You couldn't do that today."
For 25 years, Mr. Frith was a transportation engineer for what became Rockwell International in Long Beach, Calif. He moved to Stone Mountain after he was hired by Parsons Brinckerhoff, an engineering firm, where he was involved in projects across the country. He played a role in the construction of the North-South platform of MARTA's Five Points station, its transfer hub, and conducted safety tests on rail cars.
"He was detailed and he liked quality," his wife said. "He was interested in making people safe, no matter what the bosses said."
On Dec. 23, Jerry Lee Frith died from complications of heart failure at DeKalb Medical Center. He was 75. His body was cremated on Christmas Day; a memorial service will be held at a later date in February at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain. A.S. Turner & Sons in Decatur handled arrangements.
In 1953, Mr. Frith graduated from Long Beach's Wilson High and joined the Naval Air Reserve. He'd already landed his first job with North American Aviation, now Rockwell, and in a 25-year career worked his way through the ranks.
"This was back in the 1950s and 1960s when companies would offer training and sometimes pay for college courses," said a son, Chris Alan Frith of Las Vegas. "He started out as a riveter while he was in high school."
In 1980, while in Atlanta visiting his parents, he was interviewed by Parsons. The firm hired him a month later and thus began another 25-year stint. It took him around the globe. One example: He spent three years in Florence as an engineering representative at a plant that manufactured rail cars.
"He went to Italy, South America and Mexico on different projects," his wife said. "I was lucky in that, when he went to Italy, I got to see Rome and did a lot of sightseeing. The only reason he came home was because he was homesick."
In 2005, Mr. Frith retired and tried his hand at consulting. He eventually took a job taking campground reservations at Stone Mountain Park, a position he held for nearly four years.
A NASCAR fan, he had belonged to the Stone Mountain Civitans and volunteered for the Special Olympics. He was a member of the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists.
"He was a rare breed," his wife said. "Not many people became engineers the way he did."
Additional survivors include a daughter, Susan Lynn Frith of Chillicothe, Ill.; two sisters, Kathy Frith of Mission Viejo, Calif., and Margie Fraser of Superior, Colo.; and three grandchildren.
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