Mr. Gerald R. Awbrey and Mrs. Jerry Jo Voris Burkman
Gerald "Jerry" Awbrey and Jerry Jo Voris Burkman met 28 years ago at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, IN, where they still attend and serve. They were married on August 19, 1989, and are the proud parents of four children and seven grand-children.
Jerry Jo earned her nursing degree from Case Western Reserve University and her Master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan. She has worked as an ob-gyn nurse, American Red Cross nurse, U. S. Navy Reserve nurse, and most recently as the director and epidemiologist for HIV, STD, and Viral Hepatitis at the Indiana State Department of Health. Gerald, a Viet Nam veteran, is an electrical engineer by training, having earned his associate degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University. He has worked with both commercial and military companies.
Gerald and Jerry Jo have served as missionaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, France, South Africa, Japan, Zimbabwe, and the United States.
Their interest in Africa University began when Jerry Jo's parents became involved in the former North Indiana Conference capital campaign to build two 3-story dormitories on the Africa University campus. Gerald and Jerry Jo are now supporting the Indiana Conference campaign to endow a chair and scholarships at Africa University by fully endowing a scholarship in memory of Jerry Jo's parents, Merle and Esther Voris. "We are impressed with the purpose of Africa University, especially the whole continent focus of the vision," they wrote when establishing the scholarship.