Richard D. Geib Sr.

Richard D. Geib, age 81, a lifelong community servant and resident of New Philadelphia, died peacefully early Friday afternoon, February 20, 2009, with his family at his side.A son of the late Carl and Margaret Gintz Geib, Richard was born May 2, 1927, on the stair landing of his parent’s Second Street NW home in New Philadelphia.During his high school career, Rich played both football and basketball for the New Philadelphia Quakers and was a member of the undefeated football squad coached by Quaker legend, Paul Hournemann. He eventually followed his gridiron coach to Heidelberg College where his football prowess was recognized during his 2002 induction into the Heidelberg College Athletic Hall of Fame. After graduating from NPHS in 1945, Rich served in the United States Army in the European Theatre, as a member of the drill team for senior Army officials.On June 5, 1949, Rich married his high school sweetheart, the former Lois Telle of Dover, in the First United Church of Christ at New Philadelphia.Following the completion of his Bachelor of Arts degree from Heidelberg in 1950, he and Lois moved to Cleveland where Rich enrolled in and graduated from the Cleveland College of Embalming. Returning to New Philadelphia, he joined his father, Carl Geib, grandfather, Jacob Geib, and associate, Alfred Hert, in the operation of the Linn-Hert Company, which at the time included a funeral home, an ambulance service, and a large furniture store in the center of downtown New Philadelphia.With unwavering dedication, Rich served families in the funeral home, waited on shoppers in the furniture store, and took his turn at 24-hour on-call ambulance service. When he eventually purchased the organization from his father in 1971, he concentrated solely on his role as funeral director, expanding the funeral home at the New Philadelphia site, and closing both the furniture store and Geib Ambulance Service.His long professional career has allowed him the unusual distinction to serve not only with his father and grandfather early in his career, but later, he would mentor his own son, Richard II, and subsequently provide encouragement to his granddaughter and her husband, Anne and Brian Hanner, and see the funeral home he loved transition to the fourth and fifth generation of Geib service.For more than five decades, Rich was a familiar, understanding friend to thousands of families and visitors he had served. Although he officially retired in 1993, he continued to be the first through the doors of the funeral home each morning, ready to greet or to assist family and staff wherever he was needed. In spite of the long hours and hard work, Rich had a reputation for having a playful spirit and warm sense of humor. It was said that he often jokingly chided his wife for delivering their first child on a Saturday, when businesses were open until late. “Honey,” he had teased, “you knew the store was open until 9 P.M; couldn’t you have picked another day?”Rich loved his profession, his family, and fishing, often enjoying vacation time at Jack Lake in Canada where he taught his grandchildren to bait hooks, cast their lines, and wait, and wait, and wait. He enjoyed his friends, meeting for decades with a close-knit group who gathered each morning at the former Aberth’s Bakery (now The Daily Grind) to solve the world’s problems; and his Wednesday afternoon round of golf which would be followed by dinner with the couples he and Lois had come to love.Rich’s commitment to community and to service reached beyond his funeral home. He was an active lifetime member of the First United Church of Christ at New Philadelphia, serving on many church committees, including Consistory.As a young man, he became a member of the New Philadelphia Jaycee’s and served as president for one year. He held active membership in the New Philadelphia Kiwanis Club for more than fifty years, including a term as club president; maintained continued membership in the B.P.O. Elks #510 for more than fifty-five years; and was an active member of the New Philadelphia Lodge #177 F. & A. M. for fifty-one years. He was a member of the York Rite bodies, and the Tadmor Temple of Shriners at Akron, and, with Lois, was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.Rich was a past board member of the Tuscarawas County YMCA, the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the former Christian Businessman’s Association.He served on Board of Directors for the former Reeves Bank & Trust Company in November of 1966, until his retirement in 1994, remaining active on the local board after the bank became a part of Huntington National. He also served, by mayoral appointment, on both the New Philadelphia’s Cemetery Committee and the City Board of Health for many years.Following retirement, Rich enjoyed the opportunity to serve alongside his fellow veterans on the Funeral Honors Squad of the New Philadelphia V.F.W. Post #1445.Rich was the holder of season tickets for New Philadelphia football for sixty seasons, a member of Union Country Club for over 40 years, and with Lois, a patron of the Little Theatre of Tuscarwaws County and a season ticket holder for the Tuscarawas Philharmonic. In addition to his wife of nearly sixty years, Rich leaves behind a family that includes a daughter, Amy and her husband Patrick Moeller of New Philadelphia; two sons; Richard II, who purchased the funeral home in 1993, of New Philadelphia; and Robert and his wife Lydia, of Pleasanton, California; three grandsons, Chris (wife, Lacie) Geib of Portland, Oregon; Tim Geib of Asheville, North Carolina; and Noah Geib of Pleasanton, California; five granddaughters, Anne (husband, Brian) Hanner, who now operate the funeral homes, of Dover; Mandy (husband, Matt) Hooper of Dover; Missy (husband, Josh) Carlisle, of Dover; Julie (fiancé, Billy Otten) Moeller of Centerville, OH; and Sarah Geib of Pleasanton, California; seven great-grandchildren, Emily, Benjamin, Madelyn, and Conner Hooper; Caleb Carlisle; Jacob and Caroline Hanner; and two additional great grandchildren, expected in August.He will also be missed by a sister-in-law, Bonnie Geib of Stockton, California; a brother-in-law, Frank Lang of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas; brother-in-law George (wife, Lynn) Telle, of Dover; and sister-in-law; Jane (husband, Dan) Coenen, of Dover. Numerous nieces and nephews complete the family.In addition to his parents, Rich is preceded in death by his brother, Carl “Bud” Geib, and sister, Fran Lang.Friends are invited to call Monday, February 23 from 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 in the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home & Crematory at New Philadelphia. The Reverends Hugh Berry, Brian Flood, Jeffery Gerber, Jill Lovett and Monsignor George J. Schlegel will celebrate Rich’s life during a 10:30 funeral service Tuesday morning in the First United Church of Christ, 201 Fair Avenue NW, New Philadelphia. Burial will follow in East Avenue Cemetery, with military honors rendered by his follow members of the VFW Post 1445 funeral detail. Following interment, a reception will be held in the Geib Funeral Center at Dover. Memorial contributions may be made to the Geib Family Foundation, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization created by Rich and the Geib Family in 2004 for the benefit of the community, in the care of Huntington National Bank, PO Box 100, Dover, OH 44622.