Jerrie Phillips Badger
Sep 28, 1921 – Jan 17, 2026
Class: 44-W-10
Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.)
Assigned Bases: Aloe Army Air Field (Victoria, Tex)
Planes flown: PT-17, BT-13 and AT-6
A beautiful and gracious woman, Jerrie Badger (nee Dorothy Mae Phillips) left this world on January 17, 2026 on her own terms, just as she had done everything else in her life.
Fiercely independent, proud and steadfast, Jerrie was still a teenager when she left her small-town Texas home, changed her name to better suit her spirit, attended college and took flying lessons.
At the age of 23 she enlisted in the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASPs, and was one of only 1,074 to graduate from the training program and receive her wings. She and her fellow pilots flew military aircraft on homeland missions that had previously only been flown by men. The WASPs were disbanded in December of 1944, and were given national recognition in 2010 when Jerrie and her fellow WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
In 1945 Jerrie married a handsome Marine pilot, Guy O. Badger. They had five daughters together – Sharron Kay Badger (deceased), Kim Henry (husband Jim), Jonie Parker, Laura Lynn Sotka, and Holly Klay (husband Jim). She is also survived by two grandchildren, Shanna Baker and Aaron Henry, one greatgrandchild, Zoë Baker, and her niece, Jerrice Pratt.She was preceded in death by her beloved sister, Alice McCarty and brother-in-law, Troy (Mac) McCarty, and brother, Dalton Phillips.
Jerrie and Guy were divorced in 1966 and Jerrie raised her four daughters as a single mother. Her daughters were always her pride and joy and she took special care to treat each one as an individual and foster strong values in each.
She went to work for the US Postal Service and rose to the position of Postmaster. Jerrie loved to learn and continued with occasional college classes into her 70’s. She was also passionate about physical fitness and proudly showed off her ability to do push-ups off her kitchen counter at her 102nd birthday celebration.
As she aged, her quick wit and the freedom to laugh and enjoy the people around her blossomed. She laughed, loved and was beloved, and will be deeply missed by those who knew that laugh so well.
Funeral service is set for Tuesday February 10, 2026 at 2:00pm at Lewallen-Garcia-Pipkin Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Resthaven Memorial Park.
Watch video of Jerrie receiving the Living Legend Award
Sources:
Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas, WASP Collection
Legacy.com
