Obituary of John Gebhardt

John C. Gebhardt died Sunday, October 18th, 2015 in Cortland, NY. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on February 19th, 1925 where he grew up. At the age of 15 he met his wife of 67 years, Frances S. Gebhardt, who predeceased him in 2011. After her death he remained in Manhattan in the apartment they shared for over 40 years. He loved (and was loved by) his friends, neighbors, building staff, and many local shopkeepers who were all invaluable to his quality of life. He wanted all to know that the most important thing in his life was his family. He felt fortunate to be with them in his final days. He is survived by his daughter Claudia (Syracuse, N.Y.), son Jeff and his wife Gonda (Cortland, N.Y.), 7 grandchildren – Dana (Stefan Jakowenko), Lynn (Colin McEvoy), Aiyana, Taimah, Naomi, Maya, and Kaylee, 2 great grandchildren – Connor and Alexa, and his sister Anna Mae Watson (Plainview, N.Y.). He was greatly influenced by his time in the Army as a navigator during WWII on "The Princess Pat" – a B24 Liberator - 458th Bomb Group. He was proud of his service, but sorry that so many innocents were killed. He returned home a pacifist. A 35 yr. teaching career at Wingate H.S. in Brooklyn, Bayside H.S. in Queens, and Assistant Principal of English at Ft. Hamilton H.S. back in Brooklyn earned him the lifelong respect of fellow staff and students alike. His influence was evident as many of his students became writers; and the teachers who worked with him remained in touch, long after retirement. He published a book on teaching Shakespeare, which was used in all NYC classrooms for years, and is in the Library of Congress. For Shakespeare's 400th birthday he made a "cake" out of wood with 400 candles. He was glad that he didn't burn anything down. He was grateful to the many people who were so kind to him, especially after his wife, Fran, died. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him. Calling hours will be from 1:00-2:15pm on Saturday, November 21st at the Andrett Funeral Home, 353 Second Avenue, in New York City. A celebration of John's life will follow at 2:30pm. To offer condolences online, visit www.wright-beard.com