Jerry A. Donley of Colorado Springs, Colorado, passed away on Thursday, February 9 in the arms of his wife, fellow MTF Hall of Fame athlete, Christel Donley. Donley, 92, was one of the pioneers of Masters track and field, who won multiple world and national age group championships during his long and storied career. In addition to his accomplishments as a competitor, he served as national Masters Committee Chair for four years in the 1980s, as USATF Colorado Masters Chair for many years, and (together with Christel) as Mid America Region Masters Coordinator until 2017. Together with Jim Weed, Jerry helped organize the Rocky Mountain Masters Games, a mainstay of the Masters track and field calendar for more than 40 years now. Donley graduated from Beloit College in 1951 and the University of Michigan Law School in 1954. He practiced law in Colorado Springs for decades, most recently with his son.
Donley was primarily a pole vaulter, who built a runway and pit in his backyard to practice. It paid off as he won multiple world and national championships in that event. In later years he also was active in the high jump, shot put, and other field events. As a certified official he officiated literally 1000s of pole vault competitions. Donley created the Over the Bar Club (currently run by John Carmony) to promote pole vaulting, and he was a major promoter of the pole vault as a women’s event.
“Jerry was a soft-spoken true gentleman who commanded respect in our Executive Committee meetings and during the MTF Committee sessions at the Annual Meeting. His long view, borne of his decades of involvement in MTF, made him an invaluable resource to those of us following in his footsteps. He will be sorely missed, and our thoughts now are with his family, particularly his wife Christel, who is also an integral part of the MTF community both in the US and worldwide” said Jerry Bookin-Weiner, current MTF Chair.
