John Gersbach, athlete, businessman

JOHN A. GERSBACH, a retired executive in the textile industry and former circulation manager for the old Curtis Publishing Co. in Philadelphia, an Army veteran of World War II and avid golfer, died Aug. 22. He was 89 and lived in Newtown Square, but formerly lived in Swarthmore.

John was born in Canandaigua, N.Y., the youngest of the six children of John Peter Gersbach and the former Annie Melcher.

He excelled in sports in high school in Shortsville, N.Y., and later was a standout basketball and football player and ran track at the University of Rochester.

He set records in the 100-yard dash and the long jump. In football, he was a single-wing tail back on offense and a safety on defense.

He was inducted into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame, and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

After working for a time for Swift and Co., he entered the Army in 1942, and was selected for a specialized training program in personnel psychology. He was sent to Cornell University, where he met his future wife, Carol Helfer. They were married in 1945. He was discharged frmo the Army in 1946.

John worked for the U.S. Veterans Administration Guidance and Testing Center at Syracuse University before moving to Philadelphia to work for Curtis.

He then became district sales manager for Dundee Mills Inc., a textile manufacturer. In 1974, he was transferred to the main sales office in New York City, where he was marketing manager for five years. He was then promoted to vice president and national sales manager.

John retired in 1986 and he and his family moved to Swarthmore. He was a member of the Springhaven Club in Wallingford and was a deacon at the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church.

His wife died in 1997. He is survived by a son, Carl R.; a daughter, Kristen J. Hagstrom; five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Services: Were being arranged by the Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home of Broomall. *