With faith in Christ and hope in the Resurrection, we share news of the repose of Brian (Obren) Gerich, Hon. D.H.L., of Moorpark, CA, Trustee Emeritus and former Board Chair of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Gerich fell asleep in the Lord in the early morning hours of October 29.
Brian Gerich was born in 1938 in Ventura, CA, to devout Serbian Orthodox parents, and the faith he received at home shaped everything he went on to do. For more than six decades he was a faithful member of St. Steven's Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Alhambra, CA, where he served as trustee and treasurer for many years and which was pastored by St. Vladimir’s Seminary alumni Fr. Nicholas Ceko, Fr. Blasko Paraklis, and Fr. Norman Kosanovich.
Gerich loved St. Vladimir's Seminary. An exceptionally faithful steward, his generosity toward the institution began in July 1983 and continued until the end of his life. Over more than two decades on the Board, he served on the Finance, Audit, Advancement, and Executive Committees, and co-chaired the Seminary’s first major capital campaign, which brought a great expansion of the Seminary’s facilities and programs. His generosity to the annual budget, to capital projects, and to the Seminary endowment was unparalleled.
Brian Gerich (second from right) at a Board of Trustee Meeting at the Seminary in 2007.
Gerich’s heart was especially with the seminarians. Together with his beloved wife Marilyn, he established four scholarship funds: The Petar L. and Olga Gerich Family Scholarship Fund (1993), The Brian and Marilyn Gerich Scholarship Fund (1997), The Professor Veselin Kesich Scholarship Fund (2001), and The Dr Albert Rossi Endowed Scholarship Fund for Clinical Pastoral Education (2013). He also paid the necessary fees so that seminarians could complete their Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). He often spoke of how St. Vladimir’s graduates had blessed his own parish, and he worked to see that blessing multiplied in parishes across North America.
In 2013, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon presented Gerich with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. The citation opened with the words of our Lord: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). No verse could describe him better. (The full text of the citation is provided below).
Beyond the Seminary, Gerich served the wider Church on the boards of FOCUS North America and IOCC, and was chairman of the Serbian Orthodox National Stewardship Committee. He was honored with the Order of St. Sava, the Order of St. Innocent, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Gerich is survived by his wife Marilyn and their daughters Carrie Bullard and Julia Brankovic; sons-in-law Brian Bullard and Alex Brankovic; many grandchildren; and come March of 2027 the special addition of a great-grandson.
May the memory of Brian Gerich be eternal!
HONORARY DEGREE CITATION
(Bestowed in May of 2013)
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). These words manifestly describe your actions and what lies at the center of your heart, Obren B. Gerich.
Using your God given talents by gentle and persuasive words and bold deeds that challenge others, you are a builder and beautifier of all that is good and in need of your sacrificial time and resources.
Freely giving your wisdom and counsel, you lead through genuine example and faith.
A discerning judge of what is practical and sound, you are not dissuaded to implement what to others are only dreams.
With a life characterized by personal and professional achievements and honesty, rooted in the love of family and fed by faith, you freely give of earthly treasure while your heart burns for the love for Christ.
Truly we may say that you are a philanthropist—a Christ-centered friend and honorable human being.
Therefore it is with great honor that the Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, by unanimous decision and by the power vested in them by the Board of Regents of the State of New York, bestows upon Mr. Obren B. Gerich the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.) honoris causa.
