"I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live. – Robert Duvall in the western series "Lonesome Dove."

Jules Kerns died peacefully in his San Diego home on January 25 th , 2021. He was 95 years old. Born in Brooklyn, New York on October 24, 1925, to Rose and George Kernes, Jules was the youngest of fourteen children. As a boy, his family moved to Chicago, IL, where most of his extended family remains.

For as many nicknames as he had (Jules, Julie, Julio, to name a few), he had a singular personality that was built on a complicated foundation. Like a hero in an old western, Jules was the embodiment of love, old school masculinity, and traumatic experiences. Whether you were his friend or a stranger, Jules was who he was, w ithout fail.

Like many Hollywood cowboys, Jules had a very concrete sense of right and wrong. After sneaking his way into the army — a full year before he qualified to enlist — Jules joined the ranks of thousands who fought for freedom in World War II. He co mpleted two tours from 1943 - 1947 and helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp. During his second tour, Jules was chosen to be a guard during the Nuremberg trials. For his service, Jules earned an array of medals and honors, including two bronze stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. His military experience, however, was incredibly distressing for him, and he refused to discuss his wartime experiences in any detail.

After the war, Jules worked many trade jobs, however, he found his true calling when he began his own insurance business (Scott Anchor Insurance), which he ran successfully for over thirty years. In 1948 he married Jean Gertler and they had four children (Steven, Stewart, Jay, and Robin). When the marriage dissolved, Jules found love in hi s best friend and co - worker, Janet Cullerton. Jan had a previous marriage of her own (with a son, Robert). When they married in 1972, everyone immediately recognized that Jules and Jan had both found and married their soulmates.

In 1985, Jules and Jan mo ved to San Diego to enjoy a sunny life of retirement that involved side work as ushers for the Padres and the Chargers (and a wide variety of music concerts), boating on the Pacific, and road trips in a camper van. These years were among the happiest in Ju les's life — the sunshine was clearly good for his soul. In San Diego, he and Jan built a close community of friends and together, they formed a joyful life.

To the end, Jules enjoyed old western TV shows and movies. In his final days, he watched a non - sto p string of heroic cowboys riding off into the sunset. With a legacy that leaves behind four children, a step - son, eight grandchildren, and five great - grandchildren, Jules has ridden towards the great sunset one last time, having left an indelible mark on the world he passed through.