Jennifer Porter Gerald, retired Philadelphia DHS social worker and administrator, church deacon, has died at 71

Jennifer Porter Gerald, 71, of Wyncote, a retired human services program administrator and former social worker with the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, died Monday, Jan. 2, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at ProMedica Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation in Huntingdon Valley.

Mrs. Gerald was active in her church, Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, and had served as both president of its hospitality ministry and as a church deacon. She also sang in the chancel choir.

An active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Mrs. Gerald often brought her daughter with her to participate in sorority community service projects, whether it was cleaning up a neighborhood park or working at a food pantry.

“She was tough, but loving,” her daughter, Dana Coleman, said. “She was a great example of being a leader and serving others. She lived a Christian life as well.”

Coleman said her mother also took her to her office at DHS and to conferences of the National Association of Black Social Workers to provide her with experiences to shape her future.

Mrs. Gerald was a close childhood friend of Alexis Moore Bruton, the daughter of Cecil B. Moore, the late Philadelphia lawyer, city councilman, and former Philadelphia NAACP president.

Moore Bruton said the two met as sixth graders at Masterman, and remained friends through Philadelphia High School for Girls and Pennsylvania State University, where they were roommates.

“She was kind, she was patient, she shared all her gifts with everyone,” said Moore Bruton, who also is a former Inquirer reporter.

“She didn’t hold anything back, whether it was at work, with the sorority, or with her children.”

Mrs. Gerald was born in Philadelphia on April 8, 1951, the third of seven children to Daniel Porter, a Philadelphia post office worker, and his wife, Ceola Porter, an administrator with the Veterans Administration.

The Porters reared their family in the Nicetown neighborhood, where as a child Mrs. Gerald was a member of Zion Baptist Church, under the leadership of the late Rev. Leon H. Sullivan.

As the oldest daughter in the family, Mrs. Gerald helped her mother take care of her younger siblings, whether it was getting them ready for school or starting dinner while her mother was at work.

After graduating from Girls High in 1967, she got her bachelor’s degree in social work from Penn State in 1971. She later earned a master’s degree in social work from Temple University in 1987.

At Penn State, Mrs. Gerald pledged AKA’s Delta Gamma chapter. Her pledge line was the Dynamite Double Dozen.

¥ears later, after beginning her family and establishing herself in her career, Mrs. Gerald reactivated as a member of the AKA’s Omega Omega chapter in Philadelphia in 2006.

She married Collins Eubanks in 1974, and they had one daughter. The marriage ended in divorce. Mrs. Gerald married Lewis J. Gerald in 1984 and they had one son, Justin. The couple were married for 35 years until his death in 2019.

Mrs. Gerald began her career working for the city as an area youth worker trainee for the Department of Welfare in 1971 and was promoted in 1974.

In 1975, she transferred to the Department of Human Services as an area youth worker and spent the next 39 years working as a social worker, social service program analyst, social work supervisor, and finally program administrator. She retired in July 2010.

After retiring, she continued to work part-time with the Juvenile Justice Center

Coleman said her mother was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, friend, and soror to her sorority sisters. She also loved to travel, shop, and play bridge.

In addition to her first husband, daughter, and son, Mrs. Gerald is survived by two grandchildren, two sisters, four brothers, and a host of nieces, friends, and sorority sisters.

A funeral will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, 25 W. Johnson St., Philadelphia, 19144. The burial will be private.