Eugene C. Gerhart

Eugene C. Gerhart
of Binghamton
Eugene C. Gerhart died at Lourdes Hospital on October 27, 2007. Eugene was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 7, 1912, the son of H. Eugene and Mary Elizabeth (Hamilton) Gerhart. He received his A.B. degree from Princeton University in 1934 where he was a member of the Key and Seal Club and played baseball. After college, he served as a secretary to Judge Manley O. Hudson in 1934 at the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1937 and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1938. He married Mary Richardson Schreiber in 1939 in East Orange, New Jersey. After practicing law in New Jersey, he served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in WWII in the Judge Advocates Corps. In 1945 he was admitted to the New York Bar. Eugene and his family settled in Binghamton, N.Y. where he practiced law with his secretary and paralegal, Lorraine S. Wagner, until 2002, first as a sole practitioner and then as a partner with Richard Kuhnen and Jack Hummer before becoming a founding partner in Coughlin and Gerhart. Eugene lectured in Business Law at the Triple Cities and Harpur Colleges, the forerunners of Binghamton University, and was General Counsel of Columbia Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1949 to 1983. He served as acting president there from 1969 to 1970 and was chairman of the board from 1970 to 1982. Among other activities, Eugene was a member of the board of SUNY, Cortland and served as its chairman. A prolific writer, Eugene authored American Liberty and Natural Law, America's Advocate: Robert H. Jackson; Robert H. Jackson: Lawyers' Judge; and Quote It Completely among others. He was a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the American College Probate Councils, and the New York State Bar Foundation. He also was an editor of the American Bar Association Journal from 1946 to 1967 and editor in chief of the New York State Bar Association Journal from 1961 to 1997. He was president of the Broome County Bar from 1961 to 1962 and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. He served on the boards of various alumni associations and as president of the Binghamton Rotary in 1969-1970 and Oteyokna Lake Club from 1971 to 1973. He was a founder of the Cosmos Club of Binghamton and a member of the First Presbyterian Church. After 65 years of marriage, Eugene was predeceased by his beloved wife in 2004. His four sisters and one nephew also predeceased him. He is survived by his two daughters and their husbands, Catherine and Gregory Landon, Virginia and William Mason; and his grandchildren, Mary Mason, John and Alicia (Vergnes) Landon, Charles Landon, James Landon, and David Mason; and his nieces and nephews, Judy and David Gillette, George "Kip" and Kristine Barkley, Betty and Larry Dowling, William and Rhonda Barkley, David and Hetty Nuttycombe, Patti and Tim Cochran, William Nuttycombe and Julian Oaten-Wareham. He lived in his home until the end with the assistance of Robert Wargo and aides, Elena Dumitrache, Joan Holland, Linda Burns, Joanne Labuz, Barbara Bundy, June Stasukevich, and Slava Boychuk.
Funeral Services will be held Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at First Prebyterian Church, 42 Chenango St., Binghamton. The Rev. Arthur Suggs will officiate. Burial will be Monday at 10:00 a.m. at Floral Park Cemetery in Johnson City. The Rev. Bianco Podesta will officiate. The family will receive friends at the church from 2:00 until the time of the service. Arrangements by the Ernest H. Parsons Funeral Home. Donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church; the Eugene C. Gerhart Senior Law Award, Binghamton University, PO Box 6005, Binghamton, N.Y. 13902-6005; or the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 East 4th St., PO Box 879, Jamestown, N.Y. 14702-0879.