Gerald Desmond

Who was Gerald Desmond?

Gerald "Jerry" Desmond was a prominent Democratic politician and civic leader in Long Beach, California who served as a Long Beach City Councilmember and as Long Beach City Attorney.

Desmond was born in Long Beach, California on April 12, 1915. He was the second oldest son of Walter Desmond, a religious Irish Catholic lawyer from Boston who came to California in 1905 and opened a law office in Long Beach. Walter Desmond was later appointed a Superior Court Judge and was one of the first judges to assign weekend jail time so offenders could work during the week.

Desmond attended Long Beach City College, where, in 1932, he met his future wife, Virginia Slater. He briefly attended California State University, Long Beach, but soon transferred to Cal Berkeley. After graduation, along with Virginia, he attended law school at his father's alma mater, Harvard. In 1937 he and Virginia were married, and eventually had five children.

When World War II began in 1941, Desmond worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office. As a result, he would not have had to go into the service, but he was eager to join and enlisted in the U.S. Navy.