Homer George Gere, a community activist in North Syracuse, has died in North Salem, N.Y. He was 100 years old at the time of his death on March 1, 2023. A successful insurance agent until his retirement at the age of 65, Gere was known in the community as a gifted entrepreneur and was awarded for his work as a volunteer for North Area Meals on Wheels. As a supporter of that non-profit organization, he was featured in national advertisements alongside his son, Richard Gere. Known for his everyday kindnesses, he was also a dedicated public school advocate.
Gere was born May 7, 1922, in Brooklyn, PA, a small dairy farming town in the Endless Mountains south of Binghamton. The third of five children of Albert and Hazel Snover Gere, he graduated from Brooklyn Vocational High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the start of World War II, serving in the Pacific on the USS Aristaeus. He earned his B.A. degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania under the G.I. Bill. His first post-college job was as an accountant with Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia.
After transferring to the Syracuse office in 1950, Gere gradually grew a side business as an insurance agent with Nationwide, following in his brother Howard’s footsteps. Four Gere brothers worked for Nationwide at one time or other. By the time he retired from Nationwide, Homer Gere was one of the company’s best-known and best-loved agents.
He accomplished all this in collaboration with his wife, Doris Tiffany Gere, who hailed from the same small town in Pennsylvania. They met in grade school and were married in 1945. Doris Gere died in 2016. During their 70-year-long marriage, they raised five children: Susan, Richard, Joanne, David, and Laura. They were particularly involved with Andrews Memorial United Methodist Church, where they sang in the choir and taught Sunday School. They both played supporting roles in public school education in North Syracuse, which they chose for the high quality of the schools when they were starting their young family. Homer Gere served as a member of the career education advisory council to the North Syracuse Central School District board of education, which initiated the district’s career education program in 1989.
After retiring from Nationwide, Gere spent more than 25 years as a dedicated Meals on Wheels driver and fundraiser. Well into his 80s, he delivered meals from the back of his hatchback. He also wrote grants for the organization and was featured in their print and television advertisements.
He is survived by his five children and their partners: Susan (Jim Leone), Richard (Alejandra Gere), Joanne (Dan Doran), David (Peter Carley) and Laura (Oscar Lazaro), as well as two dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family especially wishes to acknowledge caregivers Lee Kyles and Lorna Brown.
Gere embraced life with love, kindness, openness, and curiosity. He will be remembered beyond all things for his joyous embrace of life, bone-crushing bearhugs, and lasting friendships. He remains an astounding and beloved soul in the eyes of his family and friends, forever reminding us to love hard and to sing loud.
A celebration of life will be held in May, close to Gere’s 101st birthday. Those wishing are encouraged to make contributions to Meals on Wheels.
