Last Updated on December 16, 2024
It’s Sunday morning and a new day is dawning in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The surf is up and early risers have come to catch a wave or a fish. 84-year-old Jerry Domask has come to take a swim.
“There’s never a bad day in the ocean,” Jerry told Growing Bolder. “Some of them are better than others.”
Domask is easily the oldest member of the Duval Ocean Swimmers, a large group that swims a mile or two every day — rain, shine, or even in near tropical storm conditions.
“I love it. I swim year-round,” Jerry shared. “It’s always different. The ones that are the toughest are the ones you always remember, like anything in life.”
“Jerry’s inspires everybody,” said Giancarlo Bertozzi, a younger swimmer in Jerry’s group. “Twenty-two-year-olds look at him and go, ‘Wow, he’s still at it. That’s incredible.’ It shows that you can still really, really be strong, even as you get up there in age.”
“I didn’t really start swimming until I was 66,” Domask said. “I started swimming between two buoys, 25 yards apart, and I’d hang on and hold on for dear life. Eventually, I built up to where I am now.
“The ocean is where I think. This is creativity. I feel at home. I feel part of the universe,” continued Domask. “I’m getting better as I get older. I can do more, I can produce more. I have a greater amount of energy and discipline.”
“I work in healthcare and I work a lot with seniors, and having people like Jerry who demonstrate that you can go out and be active, and do the things you love, and be around people of all ages, does a lot to inspire seniors,” said Kevin Kenney, a swimmer in Domask’s group.
Swimming is only one of Jerry’s passions. He’s a world-ranked triathlete, a fine artist whose paintings and sculptures are widely collected, a proud Vietnam Veteran and a widower who lost his wife of 60 years not long ago and still celebrates their love daily.
Mary is buried at The National Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida where Jerry was commissioned to create a Vietnam Memorial welcoming Veterans home. He’s contributed to multiple veterans exhibits, including creating a provocative series of paintings for an exhibit called Reflections, Vietnam War 45 Years Later in which he dealt with his own post-traumatic stress disorder. Jerry not only speaks for Veterans through his art, he counsels them in person.
“I call them my foxhole buddies,” Domask shared. “If you haven’t been in a hostile environment, people that haven’t been there will never understand, and everybody comes back changed.”
In his mid-80s, despite enduring the trauma of war, losing friends and his beloved wife, despite some serious health challenges, Jerry Domask continues to live a life he loves. He’s determined to make a difference in the lives of others and believes he’s stronger, wiser, and more creative than ever.
“I can do anything,” says Domask. “I do not want to be repetitive. I want to go where I have not gone before. That’s my freedom. All I have to do is appease myself. I’m more creative. I’m fearless.”
Jerry Domask is a man of many talents and one whose life is guided by three principles:
“It’s faith, family, and giving back,” says Domask. “Absolutely no question about it. If you got that, there’s nothing left.”
