James Phillip Gersbach

James (Jim) Phillip Gersbach was born May 2, 1940 to William Reinhard Gersbach and Rose Susan Stumpf in Madison, Wisconsin. He had two brothers Bob and Dave Gersbach and a sister Sandy. He was raised in Madson and later was a long time resident of Barstow and Pasadena California. Standing at 6’6” at his high school graduation, he was a natural for basketball. Throughout most of his life he played on many teams. He was a key player for Madson East High School and later played for the Air Force and Barstow basketball leagues. After high school, he joined the Air Force. He was deaf in his right ear from birth so he had to fake being able to hear so that he could enlist. Later in his 20’s he would have a diving accident which took most of his hearing from his good ear. Nevertheless, he refused to let his hearing loss stop him from accomplishing everything he wanted to do. He served 5 years in the Air Force 4 of which were on the flight line. In 1958, while stationed in Athens, Greece, he met Ekaterini Perivolidi who he would later marry. They had 3 children Suzanne, Christopher and Mary Ann, who died shortly after her birth. Jim’s first civilian job was with Bendix Corp as an engineer in Santiago Chile. This would be the beginning of many travels for Jim and his young family. Later they would live in Madagascar and Spain and travel to many countries. Around 1972, Jim and his family moved to Barstow where he worked at Goldstone for many years and raised his children. Near 1982, Jim and his wife moved to Pasadena where he worked at JPL as an engineer until his retirement. Once retired Jim continued to enjoy his many interests and hobbies and acquired new ones. He learned how to paint and draw and would spend many hours studying and reading about the Masters. He was also an avid reader of history, biographies, novels and much more. He knew a lot about rocks and gems and had collected many unique specimens over his lifetime in the countries he had traveled. He continued to travel extensively and visited every continent except Antarctica. The last country he visited was Turkey just a few months before his passing. He also spoke Spanish, French, Greek, German and Italian. He was a very smart, strong and compassionate man. He went to be with the Lord on October 10, 2024. He is so missed by his wife Katherine, children Suzanne and Christopher and grandchildren Christian, Emily and Adam who brought him so much joy.

James Phillip Gersbach

May 2, 1940 - October 10, 2024