John Fox Gerhardt

John Fox Gerhardt, retired educator and coach, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on January 20, in Bath, MI. John’s final weeks were challenging but he never blinked as he spent time with family, meticulously decorated his Christmas tree, and watched his hometown Ravens advance in the NFL playoffs just prior to his passing.

John was born May 5, 1942, in Baltimore, Maryland. The oldest of David and Eliza (Fox) Gerhardt’s two children, John and his sister Liza grew up in the Roland Park neighborhood. He was a proud 1961 graduate of Gilman School and captained the baseball team his senior year. John matriculated at Randolph-Macon College and enjoyed four years of intramural athletics and Kappa Sigma hijinks.

In 1966 John entered the United States Air Force where he served as a medic to 1970. John was stationed at Sondrestrom Air Base in central Greenland, near the Arctic Circle. Asked how he wound up in Michigan, he always proudly said, “Uncle Sam.” While stationed at Kincheloe Air Force Base in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in 1968 John fell for the Base Operations Commander’s daughter, Ann Cunningham. He followed Ann to Michigan State University and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971. Two months later on August 14, John and Ann wed at the United States Air Force Community Chapel in Colorado Springs, CO, and then shortly thereafter moved to Traverse City where they raised their two sons and taught thirty-four years in Traverse City Area Public Schools.

Over John’s 34-year teaching career at Traverse City Senior High, West Junior High, and East Junior High, he adeptly taught a multitude of English department courses. Shakespearean literature and Tom Sawyer came alive in his classrooms and he introduced expository writing, essay writing, newspaper design, and yearbook production to a cross-section of students.

John applied the same teaching principles to the playing fields while coaching flag football, basketball, and volleyball at the junior high level and varsity volleyball and baseball at Traverse City Senior High. He was the first varsity coach of Traverse City’s girls’ volleyball program in the early 1980s and retired in 1997 from the varsity baseball helm with multiple Lake Michigan Athletic Conference championships and two top-10 finishes in the Detroit Free Press final state poll. John’s 302 career victories still stand as the most for a Traverse City high school baseball coach. John’s standing in the Traverse City baseball community loomed large; in 2005 American Legion Bowen-Holliday Post 35 recognized John for twenty years of service as its Field Director for northern Michigan’s largest youth baseball program.

John loved Christmas; he painstakingly decorated his Christmas tree every year with treasured family decorations and took great joy stuffing stockings and wrapping presents into the wee hours of Christmas morning. He paid just as much attention to designing Easter eggs and outwitted himself numerous times as unfound eggs still are unaccounted for in his front yard. As John’s health issues mounted, he still followed Baltimore Oriole baseball from April through October and strongly supported Michigan State Spartan athletics.

John was a gentle, kind soul who selflessly lived as the Lord intended and asked for nothing in return. As a teacher and coach, he advocated for and connected with those on the social fringe and steadfastly stayed true to his values. He was an unwavering patriot and quintessential family man, leading strongly both with voice and action.

John is survived by his loving wife, Ann; sons, David (Jinny) of Chicago, Matthew “Mo” (Jennifer Grescowle) of Bath, MI; grandchildren, Kellen and Nari of Chicago; sister, Liza Granlund of New Bern, NC; brother-in-law, William (Leslie) Cunningham of Oklahoma City, OK; sister in-law, Yvonne Csehi of Aurora, CO; and four nephews and nieces.

A celebration of life will be hosted at Eagle Eye Golf & Banquet Center in Bath, MI, at 11:00 am on February 2, followed by a light luncheon. A celebration of life will be hosted at First Congregational Church in Traverse City on May 4 at 11 AM, followed by light refreshments.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made payable to: University of Wisconsin Foundation, US Bank Lockbox 78807, Milwaukee, WI 53278. Gifts in John Gerhardt’s memory may be made payable to the “UW Foundation” with a note to direct as a tribute to the Cellular and Molecular Biology Program Fund – 112446680 in memory of John Gerhardt for the purpose of supporting muscular dystrophy-based research. Gifts can also be made online at supportuw.org/giveto/cmb.

Memorial donations can also be sent to First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Road, Traverse City, MI, and made payable to First Congregational Church, memo to include “In memory of John Gerhardt.”

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes of Lansing, MI.