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With faith in Christ and hope in the Resurrection, we share news of the repose of our dear friend, Brian Gerich, on October 29. He was 87. Brian joined the FOCUS Board of Directors in the fall of 2009, when the organization was barely a year old, and later served as Board Chair. Brian, by all accounts, was one of the kindest men any of us at FOCUS has known.
From the beginning, FOCUS purposefully built a Board with members from every corner of American Orthodoxy: Greek, Antiochian, OCA, Carpatho-Russian and Serbian. Brian was the Serbian Church’s voice at that table, and one of its most respected laymen. In the boardroom he listened more than he spoke, talked about God’s goodness with the frequency that other people talk about the weather, generously gave of his time and fortune to support programs and initiatives at FOCUS and could not walk past someone in need without helping (which, at a FOCUS Center, meant he never had far to walk).
No one knew Brian in this work longer or better than our founder, Charles Ajalat. We asked Charles to share a few words:
A Reflection from Charles Ajalat, Founder of FOCUS North America
Brian Gerich is one of Orthodoxy’s modern saints whose life is truly worthy of canonization, whether or not it occurs. His life is a model of generosity, a model of trusting in God, and a model of kindness, always thinking of others and loving his family and Christ’s Church.
Let me tell you a story about how much Brian trusts in God and how generous he is. Brian told me his patron saint was Saint Ignatius of Antioch and that he wanted to become a member of the Antiochian Archdiocese Order of Saint Ignatius. Brian is the most generous person I know in relation to his resources, but he wanted to insist on being a life member, which required a one-time gift of $15,000.
I told him not to. He said, “I have decided I’m going to commit to that, even though I have no idea where the funds to do it will come from.”
Three days after the breakfast, he called and said, “Do you know how good and gracious our God is?”
I said, “Yes, I think I do, but what do you mean?”
He said, “I’ve NEVER won anything in my life, and today I won first place in the St. Steven’s Fundraising Raffle. And guess what the prize for first place is?”
I said, “Not $15,000, that’s a very unusual figure.”
He said, “$15,000.”
Brian’s generosity and kindness extended not only to institutions but to people he didn’t know, as well as those he did. During a meeting of the FOCUS Board of Directors on a cold Minneapolis day, Brian and I left our gear on a table and after the meeting, we all came down for tea and cookies. A man at the Center came in hoping for a new pair of shoes because his had huge holes, which is terrible in the brutal icy winter. A FOCUS volunteer had told him he could also have certain clothing the man adored: a gorgeous coat, hat, gloves, and scarf, in addition to the pair of shoes he hoped for.
As I looked back at the Board members, I saw Brian pointing at the outfit and saying, “Charles, those are mine.” I started telling the man who had profusely thanked us that he could have any other of the hundreds of coats we had but the one he was wearing belonged to one of our board members.
But Brian stopped me mid-sentence and said, “No, Charles, I want him to have them.”
Not only did Brian leave for the airport in a short sleeve shirt but, when I asked him how he could give away the clothing, he said, “God is so good, if the man hadn’t spoken, I would have thought someone stole my clothing and been very angry, but God loves me so much that he allowed me to give it voluntarily.”
Brian graciously agreed to be the Chair of the FOCUS Board of Directors when I needed to step down. Fulfilling a legacy, our current FOCUS Chair is Brian Bullard, his very capable son-in law.
Brian Gerich lived a life full of love, kindness, gratitude, and generosity. He has inspired us to imitate Christ and I dare say, also himself.
May his memory be eternal!
— Charles Ajalat, Founder of FOCUS North America
The Rest of the Story
Charles’s two stories tell you most of what you need to know about Brian, and his generous heart. However, there was so much more beauty to his life and work in the Church.
He was a Californian all his life, born in Ventura in 1938 to Serbian Orthodox parents who raised him in the faith. St. Steven’s Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Alhambra was his parish home for his entire life, and he served it as trustee and treasurer the way he served everything, with quiet dedication and enduring commitment.
Brian Gerich (1938-2026)
His parish involvement inspired him to widened his contributions to the broader Orthodox community. He faithfully served on the boards of IOCC, St. Vladimir’s Seminary and FOCUS. He led the Serbian Orthodox National Stewardship Committee. He was instrumental in the development of St. Paisius Monastery where he will be buried. The Church honored him for all of his work serving Orthodoxy with the Order of St. Sava and the Order of St. Innocent. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from St Vladimir’s Seminary and received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Regardless of his impact on the Orthodox community, he humbly did not talk about any accomplishments or accolades, he talked about God, about Marilyn, about his daughters and grandchildren, and about whoever he had just met.
Brian is survived by his wife Marilyn; by daughters Carrie Bullard and Julia Brankovic and son-in-laws Brian Bullard and Alex Brankovic; by 5 of his grandchildren; and, come March 2027, by a great-grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents +Petar and +Olga and his grandson +Jackson Bullard.
The whole FOCUS family holds Marilyn and the family in prayer. We are grateful for every year we had with him, and we will try to do what Charles asks of us: to imitate Christ, and to imitate Brian Gerich.
May his memory be eternal!
