My name is Jerry Ongley and my wife and I have lived in the panhandle area for over 40 years and have called Tallahassee home for the last twenty-seven. I am  proud parent and grandfather of four.  I graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. degree in Art Education, although I have spent the last twenty plus years of my working career as an Investigator with two state agencies and the last fourteen as the Senior Investigator with the Florida Board of Professional Engineers.  I have been both a student and a school teacher, and am honored to have served this country from 1965 through 1969 in the USMC.  I enjoy water color painting, pen and ink drawing (especially stippling), and I have been a competitive runner for nearly thirty years.  I have run 1/2 marathons, marathons and ultra marathons up and down the east coast including the Dublin Marathon.  I take a demanding bike spin class two to three times a week and continue to do some upper-body weight training.

I have always had an appreciation of wood and even as a young boy, carried a pocket knife.  The pocket knife became my first woodworking tool.  In college I discovered that whittling could actually produce a piece of art and not just shavings.  As my appreciation grew, so did my tool accumulation and with more and more woodworking experience I began moving in the direction I am at today.  I have had many favorite pieces over the years, most if not all of them have since gone on to other owners.  Every piece created becomes my favorite...until the next piece of wood is mounted on the lathe.  My "perfect piece" has yet to be made, which inspires me to move on to the next and then the next, and on it goes.

I was diagnosed several years ago with Parkinson Disease, which is being treated with medication.  I have reduced grip ability in both hands, which I have to consider when working.  Every step in the process of bowl or pen making has to be thought out from chainsaw to finish buffing.  A lapse in my attention span could have disasterous consequences.  I wish to encourage other persons with PD to challenge themselves in their daily lives.  The more active we are, the longer we can prolong the effects of the disease.  It isn't over until WE say it is over, and I intend to keep making Works of Art for a long, long time to come.

I hope my biography has some tone of encouragement in it for you.  If you have PD and want to reply or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.