Captain Gerald Vernon Frost, 86, was born and raised in Urbana, Illinois, in 1939. He attended military school as a young boy and developed a passion for aviation.
In 1956, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served at the Amarillo, Texas Air Force Base Training Command as an instructor for four years.
He landed his dream job as a pilot for Eastern Air Lines in 1963 and eventually became a captain, flying various commercial aircraft on both domestic and international military routes.
After 22 years with the company, Captain Frost retired early, much earlier than he wanted to, due to back problems.
Though aviation defines much of his career, Frost’s expertise reaches far beyond flight. He has been an avid photographer since 1952. Naturally, his position as a pilot allowed him to travel extensively, capturing images of landscapes, people, and cultures across the country. His photographs have been exhibited in several local venues and have won numerous awards.
Following his retirement from Eastern in 1985, Frost merged his passion for aviation and photography with his expertise in computer science and web design, teaching himself digital rendering. Through this art form, he brought the aircraft he once flew back to life.
A digital rendering by retired Eastern Air Lines captain Jerry Frost depicts an Eastern DC-7B in blue skies, one of the aircraft types flown during the airline’s piston-engine era.
More of his work is viewable on the organization’s Art Gallery page.
Frost was a longtime member of the Retired Eastern Pilots Association (REPA), where he served as treasurer for 15 years. In that role, he applied his vast technical skills to overhaul the organization’s financial management system.
He was inducted into the REPA Hall of Fame in 2010. Below are pages from the following season’s REPA publication recognizing his induction and lasting impact within the association.
Portrait of Captain Jerry Frost (REPArtee Magazine, Summer 2005 Issue).
Jerry is also a devoted husband and father, having been married to Marge for over 50 years and raising four children.
- Margaret Bartlett
- December 22, 2025