Page 8 - Jerry Doring Collection

JERRY (GERRIT) PAUL DORING STORY

Jerry Doring was born on April
28, 1918 in Richmond Hill,
Queens County, a borough
of New York City. He was the
middle child born to Paul and
Elizabeth Doring. Jerry was
exposed to music from his be-
ginning. His mother was an
accomplished pianist, and his
father had a beautiful tenor
voice. Jerry’s dad might sing
an aria from a famous opera,
and Jerry’s mom would accom-
pany on the piano. At the age
of two, Jerry moved with his parents and two siblings, Dorothy and Kenneth, to Los Angeles,
California. Two years later they settled in Alhambra, a suburb of Los Angeles. As a young
man, Jerry joined his school choir and, like his father, displayed a beautiful tenor voice. He
performed in his high school’s musical plays and Shakespeare dramas. Throughout his life,
he would often recite passages from As You Like It or Hamlet while sitting around the kitch-
en table with his wife and four children. His beautiful operatic voice only got exercise at
shower time, though, to the tunes from The Marriage of Figarro or Rigoletto.
After graduating from Alhambra High School, Jerry attended Whittier College where
he majored in business administration and joined the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps).
Not long after graduating from college in 1941, Jerry was drafted, but he was able to enter
Officer Candidate School with the United States Army. He was commissioned as a second
lieutenant, and served both stateside and overseas in the Philippines. He was honorably
discharged in 1945 after the end of World War II. In 1942, he met Virginia Hoff, a psychology
major at Occidental College. They married in 1946. They had three children two years apart
starting in 1947: Chris, Karen, and Wendy, and a fourth surprise four years later, Jeffrey.
Jerry always demonstrated acumen for mechanics. He first started restoring old ra-
dios. When he was discharged from the Army, he joined his sister in owning a music store
in Alhambra. They sold sheet music, records, record players, radios, pianos and televisions.
Jerry soon exercised his mechanical skills with radio and record player repair while working
in the store. The store eventually closed, and Jerry went to work with his dad selling insur-
ance. After several years with his dad, he opened his own insurance company called The
Jerry Doring Insurance Agency. He sold insurance until his retirement at the age of 62.
When his children were young, Jerry and his family often took summer trips around
the USA. Jerry particularly liked visiting the old ghost towns like Virginia City, Nevada. It was
in these places that Jerry showed an infatuation for antiques and of course the nickelodeons
often seen in old Western town saloons. It was in the 1950s when he picked up a National
nickelodeon and fully restored it at his home in Arcadia, California. With that purchase, he
was soon hooked with a new passion and avocation. Jerry’s collection of mechanical music
instruments began to grow. He had to convert and expand his garage space many times to
house his growing hobby. He had to raise the roof to accommodate the taller instruments
and provide a temperature controlled environment to help maintain the integrity of them.

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