David (Big-Ger) Jacob Gerlicki's Obituary
David (Big-Ger) Jacob Gerlicki was born in Memphis, Tennessee to his mother, Bernie (Ruth) and Salomon (Sam) Gerlicki. During his lifetime, he resided in California, but for most of his life in the Memphis area.
He is survived by his mother, Bernie Crosby; his sister, Debbie Gerlicki Haggenmacher (Mark); his nieces, Chelsea (Kevin) Jones and Ainsley (Thomas) Hamlin; his brothers, Mark and Michael Gerlicki; and his stepmother, Barbara R. Gerlicki.
He completed his education in Memphis. He attended White Station High School and Memphis State (University of Memphis) where he was a Spartan and Tiger, through and through. For each, he had a huge impact on their Sports Departments. He earned a sports scholarship to the University of Memphis. David helped manage U of M Tigers football and later the basketball teams under the supervision of Coach Dana Kirk and Coach Larry Finch. He and the team were able to make it to the Final Four with his beloved Tigers. After graduation, pursuing his passion for announcing, he “called the games” for his White Station Spartans (along with still keeping the stats), the Memphis Redbirds, and worked as a DJ at WHBQ along side of his friend and mentor, George Klein “The Geeker in your Speaker”. He and George shared stories and the same passion for Elvis Presley along with Tigers' basketball. David continued to announce and DJ at many different events throughout his life. It was uncanny how well he could sing and impersonate Elvis and Tom Jones. He loved music and could sing a song to you by ear and most likely would talk to you in tunes. He loved telling jokes and made everyone laugh until they cried. David would give the shirt off his back and drop everything to help a friend or family in need. All who knew him loved him.
He found a passion in watch repair as a Horologist and owned and operated David’s Watch Repair in East Memphis. David’s life was a blessing, and his memory will forever be a treasure to everyone he touched
The family will receive relatives and friends on Tuesday, November 14 at 11:00 a.m. with a celebration of life at 1:00 p.m. in the Riverside Chapel of Memorial Park Funeral Home.
Memorial Park 5668 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN, 38119. (901) 767-8930
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