Wilfred Simon Gerald Skey passed away peacefully on March 11, 2026, in Princeton, New Jersey, his hometown of fifty-five years.

Gerry was born in 1942 in Johannesburg, South Africa, after his mother, fleeing Singapore for England by ship, was ordered to disembark because of her pregnancy. Gerry was cared for until he was six months old by a benevolent Johannesburg doctor and after the war, spent several years in boarding school in New Zealand before moving to Wilton, Connecticut with his parents and brother.

A lifelong love and talent for baseball helped Gerry gain a generous scholarship at Saint Marks School, in Southborough, Massachusetts, where he was a southpaw pitching phenomenon. He was recruited for baseball by Princeton University but lettered in three sports before graduating in 1964.

That same year, Gerry met Sally Stewart Reed at Point O' Woods on Fire Island, NY and after they were married, continued spending summers there. Gerry served with the Marine Corps from 1964-68, including a tour of duty in Vietnam as a captain and platoon leader.

The family settled in Princeton where Gerry practiced law with empathy, emphasizing compromise and bridge building, concerned most with supporting his clients as they experienced challenging times.

A lover of opera, Gerry held coveted New York Metropolitan Opera season tickets, which he enjoyed sharing with family and friends. He was, at various stages, a soccer, basketball, baseball, squash, and tennis player, marathon runner, and dedicated golfer. He knit sweaters and elaborate Christmas stockings for his grandchildren, served on the board of Princeton's McCarter Theater, volunteered at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, and later in life, read audio books for the blind.

He is survived by Sally as well as his children, Scott, Samantha (Gregory Dillon), and Andrew Skey (Carrie Eastman); his grandchildren, Reed and Clive Dillon and James and Harry Skey; and his cousin Lindi Wood and sister-in-law Carol Skey and their families. He was predeceased by his brother, Anthony Skey.

Gerry loved Rudyard Kipling and had the poem "If—" framed in his office.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to McCarter Theater and/or Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.