“Did I ever tell you I’m a Colonel?”

Jerry’s baritone voice boomed out the question to his unknowing victims.

After maybe the third time he asked me that question, I knew to reply:

Of course! You’re Colonel Sanders!

Jerry’s face would break out in a huge smile and he’d move on to another topic. Probably some obscure – but fascinating – fact about Abraham Lincoln.

It was the truth, the colonel thing. Jerry was named a Kentucky Colonel decades ago for his work to promote Abraham Lincoln’s childhood. In fact, he was Chief of Interpretation at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial here in Indiana.

Jerry and my paths crossed when I worked at Lincoln Amphitheatre back in the late 1980s. He hosted a welcome reception for the cast, and even prepared an individual packet for each actor, with details about the historical character they would play that summer.

Jerry and I were members of a three-state commission assigned to bring life back to the Lincoln Heritage Trail. I remember the long drive to Chicago for Illinois’ turn to host a day-long meeting. He brought snacks for all. I’d never had mustard pretzels before. They tasted much better than the politics that awaited us.

My strongest memory of Jerry, though, was in September of 2006. I got a call from a producer with The Colbert Report. They were getting ready to kick off their satirical response to the annual “War of Christmas” and wanted our help.

In their “Blitzkrieg on Grinchitude” segment, they planned to pit Santa against Lincoln, since the towns named for them were just a few miles apart.

So I lined up Will Koch, my boss at the time, to rep Santa Claus and Jerry to pinch hit for Abraham. They were both nervous about being on a comedy show. Don’t try to be funny, I passed along from the producer:

Take this as seriously as any other interview.

We headed over to Henderson, Kentucky, where the affiliate station could hook up a satellite connection. Jerry wasn’t trying to be funny, but every time he called Stephen Colbert “Steve,” I nearly choked with laughter. Will and Jerry did great.

And now they’re both gone. We lost Will in 2010 and Jerry just yesterday.

If there’s a heaven, I know Colonel Sanders is plowing through the pearly gates right about now, calling out to a familiar tall, bearded character:

Hello there Mr. President! Did you happen to know I’m a Colonel?

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