John Gerber Obituary

John Gerber attended Menomonie High School in Menomonie, WI. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about John Gerber.

Graduation Year	Class of 1963
Date of Passing	Jun 12, 2010
About	John Paul Gerber of Quincy, Mass., passed away suddenly on Saturday, June 12, 2010, after a valiant year-long fight against pancreatic cancer. He was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Feb.12, 1945, and grew up in Stillwater, Okla., and Menomonie. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a member of the Our Savior's Explorer's Post 23. He graduated from Menomonie High School in 1963. John received academic degrees from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, where he received his PhD in history under the direction of well-known professor of history, Harvey Goldberg. Among John's scholarly writings, published in several languages, is his definitive biographical history of the early 20th century Dutch astronomer Anton Pannekoek, and the intellectual role he played in the European social reform movements of that era; (Anton Pannekoek and The Socialism Of Workers' Self Emancipation 1873-1960). John taught various classes in his specialty at many of the prestigious universities in the Boston area. He subsequently received his MLS degree from Simmons College, and after serving as an archivist at Harvard Law School, became a medical librarian at VA Boston Healthcare System at the West Roxbury Va., and then acted as the primary librarian for the Boston Healthcare System from 2009 until his death. He was a valued VA employee for many years and will be very much missed by his VA Library Network colleagues. John's real passion in life was traveling the world's continents on motor scooters and promoting travel on the machines that he loved. In 1971, he completed a 25,000 mile solo trip on his Vespa motor scooter from the U.S. to the southernmost tip of South America at Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Two years later, riding another Vespa scooter, he completed an around-the-world journey riding the entire Trans-Asian highway from Singapore to London. He was, by all accounts, the world's foremost historian on the development, manufacture and spread of motor scooters as a practical means of everyday and leisure transportation. His many research articles and travel accounts were published internationally and he served as the historian of the Vespa Club of America. This year, he was honored at the national AmeriVespa rally in San Antonio, Texas, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his many contributions to the organization. John was the devoted father of James Gerber of Brookline, Mass., and beloved brother of Joseph Gerber of Menomonie, Robert Gerber of Madison, Gwen Gerber of Missoula, Mont., and Claire (Gerber) Kalina of Endeavor. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews, Steven, Elena, Brenden, Ethan and Amber. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Millie Gerber.