Gail C. Hersh Sr.

Mr. Gail Chambliss Hersh, Sr., 83, of Greensboro, NC, died May 17, 2015, at Guilford Health Care Center. A memorial service will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, June 6, 2015, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, in Greensboro, NC, with the Rev. Tim Patterson officiating. Interment will take place at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mr. Hersh was born in Cincinnati to the late William James Conrad Hersh and Marian Chambliss Hersh. He was educated at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN, and at the University of Cincinnati. As a senior at McCallie, he was Regimental Staff Captain, a member of Keo Kio leadership honorary, and awarded the publications and citizenship medals for 1949. At the University of Cincinnati he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Sigma Sigma and ODK leadership honoraria, and Pi Delta Epsilon (journalism honorary). He was in the Army ROTC program for four years; was commissioned at Ft. Bliss, TX; served two years of active duty as a surface-to-air-missile small-unit-commander in Cleveland, OH. He then served two years in the active Reserve and four years in the inactive Reserve.

He was in the furniture manufacturing industry for nearly 50 years, having worked his first furniture “market” in 1948. He participated in the co-op program at the University of Cincinnati from 1949 until 1954, working every other eight weeks in various jobs at Chattanooga area furniture factories. After Army service he worked in sales management, and in product development with several firms, before joining Drexel Heritage Company for 15 years, and the Lane Company for another 15 years. He was with Singer Furniture for two years and did consulting for another two years. He served as Vice-President for all three furniture companies.

Since 1996 he was an active member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. He also served parishes in Chattanooga, TN, Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Morganton, NC. He was a senior warden three different times, a lay reader, a church school teacher, and a convention delegate. In 1967 he was among the first “lay people” approved to administer the chalice at communion. He was honored at Grace Church, Morganton, NC, as the first recipient of the “Man of the Year” award. At Holy Trinity Church, he founded the Joyful Noise Jazz Club to share his life time collection of historical jazz music.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Amelia (Amy) Kotte Hersh and their children; his daughter, Helen Hersh Tjader and her husband Richard of Barrington, RI; his daughter Marian Hersh and her husband William Plummer of Palos Verdes Pen., CA; and his son Gail C. Hersh, Jr. and his wife Amy of Cincinnati. He is also survived by his brother, W. James Hersh and his wife Paula of Palo Alto, CA, and four grandsons: Carl Tjader and Eric Tjader, and Griffin Hersh and Spencer Hersh.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 607 Greene St., Greensboro, NC 27401, or to the McCallie School Sustaining Fund, 500 Dodds Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37404.