- Date Of Birth: April 16, 1941
- Date Of Death: January 14, 2023
- State: Mississippi
Dean Earl Gerber, 81, of Jackson, Mississippi, passed away peacefully January 14, 2023, surrounded by family. Dean was born on April 16, 1941, to Arthur Earl Gerber and Helen Barnt Gerber in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He grew up in Holstein, Iowa, and graduated from Holstein High School in 1959. He then attended Iowa State University on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Upon graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he was commissioned as an Ensign in the U. S. Navy and began flight training in Pensacola, Florida. In 1963 he moved to Meridian, Mississippi, for advanced jet training and met Nora Jane Vaughan, whom he married in 1964. They had three children, Susan, Don, and Janet.
After two combat cruises in Vietnam flying the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and two years as an instructor pilot, he was honorably discharged from the Navy as a Lieutenant in 1969. He then moved to Jackson, Mississippi, to work with his father-in-law M. C. “Red” Vaughan at Vaughan Construction Company. Vaughan Construction specialized in earth moving, employing approximately 60 people and completing projects of varying sizes in the greater Jackson area. After retiring from the construction business in 2004, he obtained his real estate license, managed properties, and enjoyed woodworking, traveling, and gardening.
He was honored to serve as a long term member of the Board of Trustees of Jackson Preparatory School and as Chairman of the Board of the Union of Operating Engineers. He has been a member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church (USA) since 1970 and was installed as a ruling elder in 1979.
Dean loved his family, adoring his wife above all and taking immense pride in his children. His grandchildren and great granddaughter brought great delight as each came along. He was a study in contrasts – an engineer who appreciated beautiful language, a boisterous presence among those close to him but a quiet observer when in a crowd, and a big strong guy (high school state champion shot putter) with the gentlest spirit. Dean was quick with a dad joke and expressed joy by bursting into song – hymns, 1950s hits, and old musicals – often to the chagrin of at least one of his children. He loved people and took great joy in nicknaming them. He had a warm smile and often declared after events that he’d had the most fun of anyone there, as if it were a competition.
He is survived by his wife Jane; children Susan Gerber Shirley (Kevin) of Vilas, North Carolina, Donald Earl Gerber (Jenna) of Cumming, Georgia, Janet Helen Gerber of Memphis, Tennessee; brother Donald Barnt Gerber (Helen) of Panora, Iowa; grandchildren Nathaniel Kevin Shirley (Kristin), Stephen Lynn Shirley (Kristen), Emily Jane Gerber, Joseph Dean Shirley, Mary Brooks Gerber, and Andrew Dean Gerber; great granddaughter Lila Marie Shirley; and a host of nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents Arthur and Helen Gerber and brother Gerald Allen Gerber.
