Shreveport - Jerry L (Gerald) Ainsworth was born March 24,1937 in Shreveport, Louisiana to Ottis W and Fern Clark Ainsworth. He attended Werner Park Elementary and Olympus High School, (Salt Lake City), then graduated from Fair Park High School and Northwestern State University where he was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma. He received a doctorate in Education at the University of Arkansas and a degree in Public Health from Yale University where he was also a visiting scholar at Yale Law School. He pursued postdoctoral studies in Mexico City at the Department of School Medicine at the Universidad of Nacional Autonama de Mexico. During his collegiate years he competed as a gymnast, a trampolinist, and a diver. And was an official at the 1972 Olympics in Munich,Germany. He developed heath programs in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. He worked with the Schweitzer Institute to develop health programs among the Huichol Indians. He was a professor of health at Southern Connecticut State University, where he developed the International Love and Health Congress. He was an accomplished pilot, sailor, and SCUBA diver and used all of these skills in investigating ruins in the jungles, waters, and highlands of Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. Jerry was also an accomplished author who wrote two books, "Love and Health", and "Lives and Travels of Mormon and Moroni". He took many student groups to MesoAmerica to study and promote health projects. He was known as the family "Indiana Jones".

He was the first missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from north Louisiana to serve in the Toronto Canada Mission for 2 1/2 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Betty Jeanne Craner, Ottis Ainsworth Jr, and Charles H Ainsworth. He is survived by his sisters-in-law, Margaret Ainsworth and Ruthal Ainsworth. He is also survived by his sister and caretaker, Bibbit (Ellen) Pierce. And his is special niece, Missy Pierce Ricks, (Doug) and numerous other nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews.

The visitation will be at 11:00am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 200 Carroll Street in Shreveport, Louisiana with the funeral to follow at 1:00pm on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Internment will be at Beulah Cemetery in Marthaville, Louisiana.

In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be sent to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Missionary or Humanitarian Fund. The address is:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Philanthropies, 50 South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150. Or online at https://www.ldsphilanthropies.org