Samuel Ira Gerard

Samuel Ira Gerard of Longmeadow, MA, passed away on Saturday, January 6, 2018. He was the beloved husband of the late Esther Barshay Gerard and the late Blanche Barshay Gerard. Born in New York City, he resided for most of his life in Cherry Hill, NJ, moving to Longmeadow, MA in 2000. Sam was the third of four children born to Harry and Mary Goldberg in Manhattan on June 3, 1918. As a child, his parents moved to Brooklyn where he attended elementary school and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1936 where he was manager of the track team. He had a very special gift for math, which led him to pursue a degree in accounting from St. John’s University, where he received a B.A. degree in 1945. He served in the Ordnance Corps. of the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. In 1949 he received a Bachelor of Laws degree from New York Law School and in April of that year he married Esther Barshay. Following her death in 1974, he married Blanche Barshay in 1975. Sam worked for the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Internal Revenue Service as a Federal Estate Tax Attorney and then supervisor of the Internal Audit Unit. He retired from the IRS in 1980 after 25 years of service. Upon retirement he received the Albert Gallatin Award, the highest civilian award presented by the US Department of the Treasury. From 1980 to 1993, Sam was Chief of the Random Audit Program in the Office of Attorney Ethics for the Supreme Court of New Jersey. During that time he created and developed a program that became a national model for monitoring the recordkeeping of private practice law firms. He was admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the New Jersey Bar and was a member of the Camden County Bar Association. Sam loved the Brooklyn Dodgers (and never got over their move to Los Angeles) but after moving to Massachusetts, he became an ardent Red Sox fan. His other passion was for music – big band jazz, Latin jazz, and classical were at the top of his list. After moving to Glenmeadow Retirement Community, he organized a weekly music appreciation program there for many years. Sam is survived by his devoted daughter Nora Gerard, grandchildren Elliot Scher and Alicia Scher, and son-in-law David Scher. He will be missed by Blanche’s children, Joan (Dr. Michael) Rosner of South Hadley, MA, E. Bonnie Podell of Manhattan Beach, CA, Stephen S. (Janice) Barshay, PhD of West Hartford, CT, and grandchildren, Jordan (Alysia) Rosner, Douglas (Erin Higgins) Rosner, Rebecca (David) Abbott, Laine Podell, Marc Podell, Robyn Pick (Adam), Hilary Barshay (Tim Shaw), Richie Barshay, Nathaniel Barshay, Micah Barshay and many great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces. Sam and his family greatly appreciate the caring attention he received from the staff at Glenmeadow, Glenmeadow At Home and Spectrum Healthcare in his last months and days. A graveside service will take place on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 12:00 pm at Cedar Park Cemetery, Paramus, NJ. The family will sit Shiva at 7:00 pm Thursday, January 11, 2018 at Glenmeadow Retirement Community, 24 Tabor Crossing, Longmeadow, MA. Donations can be made to The Philadelphia Orchestra or Jazz at Lincoln Center to support their performance and education initiatives. The Ascher-Zimmerman Funeral Home is assisting the family.