Roman Gerber

Roman J. Gerber, 1932 to 2020, age 87. Roman passed away on July 11, 2020 with his sons by his side. Roman was born in Chillicothe to Roman A. Gerber and Louise Weisenberger Gerber, who tragically died in childbirth. He grew up in Chillicothe with his father and stepmother, Irene Stark Gerber, attending Catholic elementary school and graduated from Catholic Central High School. He then attended the University of Dayton and received his B.A. cum laude from Notre Dame. He received his law degree (J.D.) from Georgetown University. While serving in the U.S. Army Reserves, he worked as a trial lawyer for Hamilton and Hamilton in Washington, D.C. He then served as associate counsel in the Office of the Comptroller and later as Regional Comptroller of the Currency in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1966 he joined City National Bank in Columbus, Ohio. Through a period of explosive growth and the evolution of City National into Banc One Corporation, Roman served in various capacities including executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, director and interim president and coordinated the acquisition of over 130 banks and bank-related companies. He retired in 1997.

After retirement, Roman and Catherine enjoyed reading, traveling to Europe, attending Columbus Symphony concerts, escaping to Naples, Florida each winter, and numerous good times spent with family and friends.

Roman was predeceased by his parents and his only daughter, Anne Gerber. He is survived by his sons, Thomas A. Gerber and Daniel J. Gerber, and 2 grandchildren, Lindsay Gerber and Caleb Gerber. Also left behind to cherish his memory is his wife Catherine Gerhold Gerber, her children Cheryl Zanon, Raymond (Ann) Zanon, Cathy (Michael) Paessun, daughter-in-law Vicky Blankenship Zanon, 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. The family would like to acknowledge the excellent care Roman received the past several months from both Sunrise of Gahanna and Hospice of Central Ohio. Roman and Catherine were active members of Worthington Presbyterian Church.

A memorial service to commemorate the lives of Catherine and Roman will be held at Worthington Presbyterian Church, 773 High Street, Worthington on Saturday, October 16 at 10:30am. There will be a short prayer service at Union Cemetery immediately following the service.

In lie of flowers, donations in Roman's name may be made to Lifecare Alliance or the Worthington Presbyterian Church.