As I live in Australia, I have very belatedly caught up with this sad news.  Mr Ganz was my Latin teacher at West Ladue Junior High School. He was an outstanding teacher and a fascinating one. I always imagined that he was a distinguished Roman citizen who had time-travelled to the present in order to teach Latin and a bit of Roman culture to future generations. He was much respected and an absolute inspiration.

Dave’s Eulogy at Jerry’s Funeral Mass, May 25, 2011

Tom and I would like to thank you for being with us this morning, and for your love and support during this past six weeks.  A special thanks to Father Ed Stanger, a long-time friend of the family; and to our concelebrants: Monsignor Henry Brier, pastor here at St. Raphael’s; Monsignor Ed Sudekum, my pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in University City; Father Jack Hunthausen of the Society of Jesus, currently with Kenrick-Glennon Seminary; Father Matt O’Toole, currently chaplain at CBC High School; and Father Larry Herzog, pastor of Little Flower in Richmond Heights; also to our guest organist and cantor.  We also extend our thanks to the hospice team from St. Anthony’s Home Hospice; and to Accu-Care and our two health-care providers—Laneze and Lillian.  Your care and compassion were so very much appreciated.  And certainly thanks to the folks at Hoffmeister-Colonial Mortuary who saw to every detail.

A few reflections regarding Jerry: Gerard Oliver Ganz was born on May 24, 1937, at St. Anthony’s Hospital.
He grew up in south St. Louis and moved to University City with our family in 1955.

Jerry attended Busch Elementary School, Our Lady of Sorrows School, St. Louis University High School and St. Louis University, where he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, concentrating in Latin.

He taught at Bishop Dubourg High School for three years prior to joining the Ladue School system.  His initial teaching of Latin at Ladue had him navigating among three campuses--East Ladue Junior High, West Ladue Junior High (now Christian Academy) and Horton Watkins High School.  He concluded his teaching career some 30 plus years later exclusively at Horton Watkins.  There he became very good friends with Rosalie Saputo (our reader this morning) and Mickey Opitz, both long-time friends, along with many others.

Upon retiring from Horton Watkins, he worked part-time with Kreigshauser-South Mortuary as a greeter until the company wanted him to have a routine drug test; he quit.

Jerry has always been a very private person who had excellent tastes--in clothes, furnishings and collectables.  His wit and charm were enduring.

He moved from the family residence to his first condo on Nottingham across from Francis Park; then desiring something more spacious, he acquired his current condo at the Park Mansion which is located across the street.  There he became good friends with Ann Veatch, now deceased, who fixed dinner for him on numerous occasions—Jerry was not a cook.  She was very active with St. Raphael’s and got Jerry involved there, but upon Ann’s death, Jerry chose to limit his involvement to being exclusively a church-going parishioner.

Tom, Jerry and I traveled in different circles, so while we were always there for one another, each had his own friends.

Jerry and Don Daugherty have been friends for over 40 years; Don regularly came to our family home and my parents and I loved having him.  That friendship has never ceased.

But there are so many of Jerry’s friends that I never really had the opportunity to know.  Thanks to each of you for your role in Jerry’s life.

While the “love” word is not typically part of the vocabulary among three brothers, we were always there for one another if and when the need arose.  And so it did in recent years: with Jerry’s bladder cancer; macular degeneration of one eye; and most recently, this terrible lung cancer that ultimately took his life.  Jerry was a smoker; he quit cold turkey over three years ago when the bladder cancer was diagnosed, and we thought he was cancer free going from once a month examinations to once every three months, to once every six months and then to once a year—always with good outcomes.

His acceptance of his most recent diagnosis in mid April of lung cancer is an inspiration for all of us.  He never complained, but accepted the reality of the situation.  He consulted with an oncologist, but wanted no part of chemo.  He did consent to giving radiation a try; that was intended to reduce the mass in his lungs and provide some assistance with his breathing.  But his condition did not improve which resulted in stopping radiation and enrolling him in home hospice, and that for just over a week prior to his passing.  He wanted to die at home.

Jerry was prepared to go: his personal and legal affairs were in order, and he received the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and the Anointing of the Sick.  He said he was ready to go home to the Lord.

A very special word of thanks to two very dear nurse-friends of mine that Jerry came to know over the years:  Susan Blanton (one of our pall bearers), who spent time with Jerry during the time things were shutting down; and JoAnn O’Neal (who read our petitions this morning), who facilitated things for us, and who sat in with us while we were working our way through medical consultations and procedures at the Siteman Cancer Center.

Thanks for your presence here this morning, and for your love and support.

It would be foolish to say he was a beloved teacher; his wit was too sharp for that.  But as a teacher, he was respected, admired, adored, and occasionally feared.  While the ostensible subject was Latin, he taught us most of the formal English grammar we ever got, and was a role model to us in his own way.  Condolences to his family and friends.

Jerry was my Latin teacher at Ladue for four years.  I cannot imagine there was another single teacher who could have made four years of any high school subject as much fun as Mr. Ganz made Latin.  You will be missed, big guy.

Jerry was a wonderful friend and teaching colleague.    I fondly remember numerous fun parties and adventures.  My favorite is Jerry inviting me to see Bette Midler at the Kiel in the mid-seventies.  Although I lost touch with Jerry, he was always and will continue to be in my thoughts.

Mr. Ganz was my Latin teacher for four years. He was one of the absolute best teachers I ever had because he kept us rolling in the aisles. He was all about fun, but make no mistake, we learned from him, too. We all adored him. He gave us all funny nicknames, and made fun of us. He was the best.

Mr. Ganz was my Latin teacher for six years and by the end, I was one of two people left in the class.   From his funny sense of humor (writing my friend's note up on the board and correcting her grammar in seventh grade--no one ever passed a note in his class again) to having him write my college recommendation my senior year, he was one of a kind and I remember him with great fondness.  Rest In Peace, Mr. Ganz.

A former Latin teacher and a co-worker un-der Ed Tines and Bill Raisch, I felt strongly about this great truly educated man. I went to SLUH with his brother Tom. Ave atqua vale!  from Indy

Jerry,
You were kind, generous, funny, and sincere.  All the great memories from over the years will always keep you close.  The best memory for me will always be our fishing experience at Mary and Alice's on Vandalia Lake. What a hoot!!!  The guys did not even know you knew how to clean fish, let alone catch fish!!!  I had to laugh at their surprise and astonishment.  Thanks so much for some really great times.  Rest in Peace and will see you later...
Love,
Mary

Our trips to St. Louis will never be the same.  You will be missed, Uncle Jerry.

Love, 
Sean

We will miss you, Uncle Jerry.

Love, 
Chelsea

I will be there in spirit sharing heartfelt memories of my dear uncle who brought humor, color and lightheartedness to our family circle.

"The tide recedes but leaves behind
bright seashells on the sand,
 The sun goes down, but gentle warmth
still lingers on the land,
 The music stops and yet it echoes on
in sweet refrains ...
 For every joy that passes,
     something beautiful remains."

So grateful that I was able to give him a hug and tell him good-bye last week.

Love,
Denise ("Da-Niece")

Many years have passed but fond memories remain.  All your SLUH classmates remember a first class, great person.

Goodbye my friend, I will really miss your beautiful smile & charming wit. Rest in Peace. Love, Michael

Jerry,  You were a great guy. You enjoyed life in your own fashion. You will be missed.

My condolencews to the Ganz family.

I went to Our Lady of Sorrows Grade School with Jerry and we graduated in 1951.

I don't remember too much about Jerry, But I did recognize the name.

May he rest in eternal peace.

Mark H. Jacquemin
St. Peters, Mo.

 I will always be grateful for knowing Jerry and being his colleague at East Ladue Junior and Ladue High School. He set the standard for us with his wit and intelligence. . . always a gentleman. He will be greatly missed and remembered.  Ann Mandelstamm

OBITUARIO

Gerard Jerry O. Ganz

24 mayo, 1937 – 21 mayo, 2011

Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary

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