Jerry Bittle, 53; Created Comic Strip ‘Shirley and Son’

Jerry Bittle, 53, creator of the syndicated comic strips “Shirley and Son” and “Geech,” died Tuesday of a heart attack while on a scuba-diving vacation in Honduras.

“Shirley and Son,” a thoughtful look at life after divorce, appears in 75 newspapers worldwide, including The Times. “Geech” appears in more than 175 newspapers. Both strips are syndicated by United Media.

The son of a barber, Bittle was born in Wichita, Kan. After college at Wichita State, he found staff artist and cartooning jobs at newspapers in Wichita and Albuquerque.

He moved to the Dallas area in 1978 to work as a freelance artist and illustrator. A short time later, he began drawing “Geech,” a humorous look at life in the fictional town of Grimace, Texas. He also is the author of “Geech ... The Moosical” with music by Angelo Badalamenti.

Bittle began drawing “Shirley and Son” in 2000.

His daily strips will end on May 3 and his Sunday strips on May 25. They will be discontinued at that time.