100th Birthday Celebration of
John O. Gerrish
August 14th, 2010
Red Fox Inn, Saranac Lake, NY
On November 29th, 2010, Pop passed
away quietly in his sleep. Hold fast to the happy memories of
events like this 100th birthday party celebration to remember him
by. Obituary
here:
"Pop" Gerrish makes a
grand entrance to his party, walking in on Mary's arm under his
own power. He takes a long walk with her almost every day, so
this little excursion is nothing.
Pop greets his brother Charles.
Erika von Trapp, long time
friend of the family.
Pop listens attentively as his
children, Mary, Cathy and Jim, play his 1957 published
composition Variations on a Burgundian Carol on the
recorders. It was dedicated "To John (B.) and the
Midnight Recorder Society" which included Father Phil, among
others. Video below.
Catherine (Cathy) Ryan on the soprano recorder,
Mary Gerrish on the alto recorder, and Jim Gerrish on the tenor
recorder, playing three movements (Prelude, Scherzo, and Finale)
of Variations on a Burgundian Carol composed by their
father, John O. Gerrish.
Kama
Prellwitz, friend of the family and
special guest violinist with the newly formed Jesu Joy
Ensemble, presents Pop with a special bouquet of flowers
sent from his Alma Mater, the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY, from which he graduated in 1930. Kama
also currently attends Crane School of Music.
John (Jack) Gerrish gazes in amazement at the
100 blazing candles over his birthday cake. How will he ever blow
them all out? With a little help from his great grand-children,
of course!
The great grandchildren gathered willingly
around the cake and candles to help great grandpa blow them out
and get his wish... which I think had already come true in this
room today!
Toastmaster Bill Ryan (Son-in-law and Cathy's
husband) gave the first toast, as John B. warned everyone not to
drink it all because there would be a second toast, thereby
breaking his own rule about extra toasts and speeches.
However, John was forgiven his
"transgression" because the second toast was for Mary,
who had been Pop's caregiver for the past 18 years, as well as
the world's best "Aunt" by unanimous acclamation of all
the relatives present, because she never forgets a birthday and
always picks the best presents for every occasion. John B. also
presented her with a special bouquet of flowers.
Another combination of great
grandchildren played an "arrangement for cousins" by
Harriet Groenleer of Aaron Copeland's Hoe-down movement
from Rodeo .
A final ensemble of the party played a variety
of W.A. Mozart quartets in the background as relatives and
friends began to say their farewells and head back home.
At this point, Pop was beginning to nod off, so
Father Phil gave him a special blessing, and Mary took him home
to have a nap. Tomorrow they can remember the party, look at
pictures and videos of the event, and recall all the excitement
of this day that celebrates a century of living life to the
fullest.
Ann TenEyck's Photos
L-R: Frederick Goode, Jim Gerrish
Most of the above party photos were taken by
Fred Goode, Jim Gerrish's son. However, no one remembered to take
a photo of the photographer, so here he is at last, thanks to our
Saranac Lake neighbor and lifelong family friend Ann TenEyck.
L-R: Elijah Goode, (Grandpa) Jim Gerrish, Mary Gerrish, Al-Quadir
Marsh
Ann also took this photo of Jim's two grandsons
who were at the party and who helped photograph it as well:
Elijah (Fred's son) and Al-Quadir (step son of Lee Harper, who
did not attend the party). Both grandsons are members of Jim's Wiz Kids.
L-R: Soozie Leubert, Mary Gerrish, Noel Prellwitz
Ann also remembered to take a
photo of Kama's parents, although Kama's parents did not forget to
invite many of us to their camp at Rainbow Lake for a late night
swimming party and campfire.
Ann also took this photo of
brothers John and Jim Gerrish. John is losing his hair and Jim is
losing his teeth, but both retain their sense of humor.
Other Photographers
We gathered this action photo of neighbor Ann
TenEyck from the background of one of Fred's photos.
L-R: Foreground - Al-Quadir Marsh, Olivia Goode
Al-Quadir Marsh did some of the videography on a
Flip camera, and, as you can see, took still photos on his
digital camera at the same time. Al-Quadir is also an official photographer of his Uncle Fred's East
Orange Unified Marching Band. Olivia Goode, his cousin,
watched him very closely and for her birthday in September 2010
asked for a digital camera of her own (Which she got! Look out
world!).
Marc Groenleer, grandson-in-law, videotaped
the event and produced a DVD for members of the family.
Family members who spot
errors or omissions, please contact Jim
Gerrish. Anyone who attended the
party and who has additional photos, video and information either
of a historic
nature or about the party,
please e-mail them to Jim
Gerrish.
