Gerald Wayne Harte

HARTE, Gerald Wayne, age 88, of Centerville, OH, passed away on Saturday, March 21, 2020, survived by Donna, his loving wife of more than 60 years.

Gerry was born in San Bruno, CA on January 22, 1932. After serving 2 years in the army in Alaska as a construction engineer, Gerry went to Oregon State where he met Donna, the love of his life. Gerry graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1958, married Donna, and began a long career working for Procter & Gamble. Gerry and Donna moved all over the country during his career as a P&G executive including Long Beach, Sacramento, Cincinnati, Chicago, New Orleans, and Kansas City, ending in Dayton, where Gerry became president of The Hewitt Soap Co., then a Procter subdivision.

Gerry is preceded in death by his parents Charles Harte, Sr. and Esther Harte, and his brother Charles Harte, Jr. In addition to Donna, Gerry is survived by two daughters, Linda Hoffsis (Steve) of Cincinnati and Karen Harte of Avon, CT; five grandchildren, Laura Koziol (Ben) of Louisville, CO, Krista Hoffsis (Eric Levine) of Ferrisburgh, VT, Nicholas Bortoff, of Avon, CT, Erica Bortoff (engaged to Jiries Hanania) of Victoria, MN, and Zachary Bortoff of Waterloo, Canada; and great grandson, Elias Koziol.

Gerry is remembered for his generosity, creativity, faith, diplomacy, sense of humor, and kindness. He was passionate about serving God and other people. Volunteer work was core to his character. Gerry was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kettering, where he served on the church council, and then of Epiphany Lutheran Church after he and Donna moved to Bethany Lutheran Village in 2018, where Gerry previously served on the Board of Directors of its parent organization (now Graceworks Lutheran Services), including a term as President of the Board.

Family will greet friends from 9:30am-10:30am Saturday, September 4 at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 6430 Far Hills Ave., Dayton, OH 45459. Memorial Services will follow at 10:30am at the church, with a reception afterwards. Graveside Services will be held at 1:30pm at Woodland Cemetery. For those unable to attend, services will be livestreamed on Routsong Funeral Home's YouTube page. A special thank you to the staff at Bethany Village and Ohio Hospice of Dayton for their wonderful care of Gerry.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to The Nature Conservancy (https://support.nature.org, 1-800-628-6860), ELCA World Hunger (https:www.elca.org/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/ELCA-World-Hunger, 800-638-3522), or Graceworks Lutheran Services (https://graceworks.org/support/donate/, 937-436-6871).