Gerald Lewis Geiger

Major Gerald Lewis Geiger, U.S. Air Force Reserve (retired), beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Sunday, July 26, 2015. He was surrounded by his family in his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland that he cherished for over 50 years. Gerald passed away just short of his 91st birthday. Gerald, an ardent American patriot, was born in Vienna, Austria. After the Nazi Anschluss of Austria in 1938, he left with his family securing passage on the last commercial cruise liner that sailed from Genoa, Italy for America. Gerald immediately fell in love with his newly adopted homeland, calling New York City of the 1940s “his playground.” After completing high school in New York City, he volunteered for the U.S. Army. Given his fluency in German, he was selected for the elite military intelligence team (“The Ritchie Boys”) where he was trained how to use his French and German language skills to support Allied intelligence and reconnaissance work. He served in General George Patton’s Third Army, 106th Cavalry and saw heavy, frontline combat throughout France, Germany, and Austria. He was an eye witness to the liberation of Paris, the freeing of Dachau, and the return of his beloved Vienna to freedom. He was able to bring his share of his soldier rations -- cigarettes, chocolates, and canned foods -- to his relatives who stayed behind in Vienna; this helped them get through the tough times of post-war Vienna. Gerald returned from the war and attended City College of New York where he studied romance languages. He parlayed his fluency in six languages to establish his own translation and editorial research company “Geiger Associates” in 1957, which he ran until he fully retired in 2013 at age 89. A creative, engaged, bon vivant (who religiously kept up his ritual of a Sunday champagne brunch), Gerald had many hobbies that he said kept him young. His quote: “To stay young, you have to play young,” rang true. He composed music, painted, remained engaged in current affairs, and wrote many a romantic poem for the two loves of his life -- his first wife Marion, the mother of his only son, William, and after her passing, his second wife, Anne. He shared his love of the Arts, literature, and travel with his second wife, Anne. Gerald received the Bronze Star for his capture of a German unit singlehandedly and was awarded the French Legion d’Honneur for his service in the liberation of France. He donated the etchings he made during his time in France in 1944 to a society of French military veterans when he returned to Paris with his wife Anne for the 50th anniversary celebration of the liberation of Paris. Gerald was a force of nature and he had a one-of-a-kind flair for living; he was never without the correct hat for every occasion. Gerald lived and died by his own high standards and on his own terms. He will be sorely missed by his surviving wife, Anne Geiger; his son, William Geiger; his step-children, Sean Gallagher, Michael Gallagher, and Anne Jones; his daughter-in-law, Marie Geiger; and his twin grandchildren, Marian and Marcus Geiger. A viewing and funeral service will be held at Joseph Gawler’s Funeral Home on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 5130 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. The viewing will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 and the funeral service starts at 7:30. Gerald will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.