Oral history interview with Jerry F. Cundari

Collection

Identifier: SR 1164

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Jerry F. Cundari was conducted by Kerry Tymchuk in Portland, Oregon, on August 23, 2023. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, Cundari discusses his early career as a golf caddy at the Portland Golf Club and describes his experiences playing in golf tournaments as a teenager. He speaks about golf players he competed against, and about titles he won. He talks about his college experience at the University of Oregon, particularly playing golf for the university team. He discusses continuing to play golf while working for the family insurance company, Cundari Insurance, and while raising a family, and shares his reasons for never pursuing a career as a professional golfer. He talks about professional golfers he played with, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. He closes the interview by talking about tournaments he played in as a senior golfer.

Dates

2023 August 23

Creator

Tymchuk, Kerry (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

Gerald Francis “Jerry” Cundari was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1940. He graduated from the University of Oregon in Eugene, and he worked for his family's insurance agency, Cundari Insurance. In 1962, he and Deanna Lea Max were married; they later had three children.

Cundari also had a long career as an amateur golfer, beginning during his teenage years, when he worked as a caddy at the Portland Golf Club. He also began competing in golf tournaments at that time, and won his first tournament in 1956. He played in college, and continued his golf career throughout his adult life. He was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1998.

Sources: Vital records in Ancestry.com; information provided by Cundari in his interview.

Extent

62.8 Megabytes (1 audio file (MP3, 1 hr., 8 min., 36 sec.) + transcript (29 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Jerry F. Cundari conducted by Kerry Tymchuk on August 23, 2023. Cundari, a longtime amateur golfer and inductee to the University of Oregon Hall of Fame, discusses playing in golf tournaments.