George Lewis "Jim" Cryer

George Lewis “Jim” Cryer was born in Leesville, Louisiana on August 31, 1941, to Ivy Curtis Cryer and Lois Shankle Cryer Fenn, and passed on April 20, 2018. He is survived by his brother Curtis Bruce Cryer of Leesvile, his wife Bonnie Davis Cryer, and his four children, Kellie Bradshaw, Amy Osmond, Daniel Cryer, and Sarah Poser, his two step-children, Treva Stack and Kristin Jimenez, and ten grandchildren.

Jim served as founder or held a leadership role in many churches throughout his life, including the Columbia Christian Fellowship in Columbia, Maryland, which he started with a group of friends in his living room in the early ‘70s. The church still holds services and is now called New Heritage Community. More recently he gave much of his time to Free Life Church in Leesburg,Virginia.

Jim showed early promise in his education, graduating as valedictorian of Leesville High School, where he also played varsity basketball and was voted “Mr. LHS” by his classmates. His mother, Lois, pooled her limited resources to send him to Louisiana Tech, where he earned a Bachelor’s in engineering. In 1963 he married Shirley Savoie, of Beaumont, Texas, with whom he raised his four children. In Texas he continued his studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, earning a Master’s degree and working for Texas Instruments, a job that took him to the California desert for two years.

Jim then moved to Cleveland, Ohio to continue his education at Case Western Reserve University, where he earned a PhD in biomedical engineering. A post-doctorate research position at Johns Hopkins University brought him to Baltimore in 1970. But Jim felt a strong call to the ministry, and he left academic life to found the church in Columbia, and devoted the rest of his life to the church in many capacities.

In 1994, Jim married Bonnie Davis, and began his life with her in Ellicott City, Maryland. There they began their ministry together for 24 years. There are too many memories to mention of all the holidays and celebrations they shared as a family. They were never without laughter or quality time. His Chincoteague Island memories throughout the years were some of his most favored. Jim loved the peace and tranquility of being by the water and laughing and sharing time with those he loved.

He and Bonnie began their journey with Free Life Church when they moved to Leesburg,Virginia. This church was Jim’s heart and passion, and that is where his extended church family resides. Through this church he began a Spanish Ministry, and there are plans to continue it in his honor.

Jim was a man of many interests and talents. A life-long guitar player, he studied classical music and dabbled in rock and blues. Like his mother before him, he was a voracious reader, studying theology and history, and later in life caring deeply for poetry and fiction. He traveled repeatedly to Mexico on church mission trips, fell in love with the culture there, and took Spanish language lessons, eventually gaining conversational fluency. He was an outstanding cook with a repertoire including food from Mexico, China, and of course the American South.

Jim always considered Louisiana his home and traveled there as often as he could. Relatives saw him at his most relaxed there and heard hints of his southern accent slip back into his voice.

He was a great storyteller. He loved people. He had a beautiful jump shot, a shockingly high tolerance for spicy food, and never took himself too seriously. As a pastor and as a man, many came to him for advice, valuing his experience, patience, kindness, and knowledge of scripture. He will be deeply missed.

In lieu of flowers, Jim’s wish was to please consider a donation to Free Life Church in Leesburg, VA. There’s a place for donations on their website, www.freelifechurchva.com under the tab titled “Give Online.”

The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, where a funeral service will begin at 2 p.m.

Interment will follow in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.