TCRemembering Meteorologist Jerry Orchanian
On Saturday, October 4, 2008, the Middle Tennessee weather community lost one of its best friends- Warning Coordination Meteorologist Jerry Orchanian of the National Weather Service Nashville.
Jerry served Middle Tennessee for 14 years training storm spotters and protecting our area by issuing accurate forecasts and warnings.  Jerry's work in training spotters has made our area a safer place, because the classes he taught were presented in a way that everyone could understand.  Jerry was a very effective teacher and I know because I attended many of his classes.  His class was thorough, informative, and entertaining.  
I  know first-hand Jerry's talent in making a hard subject easy to understand, because I had a chance to try and fill his shoes when I was invited to teach a storm class at a local fire station- it was not easy.		JO
Jerry was always quick and ready to assist me with questions and events.  Jerry gave presentations during some of the StormWeek events that I held.  He went beyond just speaking at the event- he brought goodies like weather balloons and posters to display and give away.
Jerry was always friendly and respectful to people, and he always valued my input from storm events I witnessed.  Once he asked me to visit the NWS office and help him plot a tornado path for the NWS storm archives.  There had been a wide-spread severe weather event on May 5, 2003 and the NWS could not get out to see all of the damage across their county warning area before clean-up took place; therefore, Jerry made a storm survey based on pictures I took from the Goose Creek area in Williamson County.		JO
Jerry knew he taught we well; which was how he taught everyone, and he knew the data he received was accurate.  The picture above shows from right to left: Jerry, Charlie Neese, and myself at the StormWeek event.
Going to a spotter class or visiting the NWS and not seeing Jerry is going to be a really odd thing- he will be very much missed. We know Jerry is in a better place.  He is more alive now than ever.  When you lose a friend or family member, it often makes you think about life beyond this life.   I found the video below and thought I would share it to encourage everyone and to hopefully bring a positive perspective to the subject of losing a friend.