Woodstock, Vermont

Kurt Drexel Gerrish, 85, passed away peacefully on April 29 ^th , 2023, in Jupiter, Florida surrounded by family.

Kurt was a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. An incredibly hard worker, he built a successful career and devoted his life to his family and businesses. He attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, and then Bucknell University where he was in the SAE fraternity. From the age of 14, Kurt was an entrepreneur: his first job was selling Christmas cards on commission. His father, Kenneth, moved to Woodstock in 1957 and bought a small Chevy dealership housed in what is now the town's fire house. After gaining business experience in plumbing sales in New York City, Kurt, at age 23, entered the entrepreneurial life he led into his 80's.

Within Woodstock, the town he so loved, Kurt sought leadership roles in the development of community business interests. By the age of 26, he was a director of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, and later led the Chamber briefly as its chairman. He was a member of the Woodstock Vermont Masonic Lodge No. 31, F. &A. M. Kurt had a passion for wanting the Woodstock community to grow, "because as the community grows so do all the businesses and the community at large."

Over the course of his business life, Kurt owned multiple automobile franchises including Chevrolet, Mercedes Benz, BMW, DeLorean, Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Bricklin, Merhow horse trailers, Puch mopeds, and Honda. During his time as an automobile dealer, Kurt was President of the Honda Twenty Group. He sold Gerrish Honda in 2016, ending a 59-year career as a car dealer in the Upper Valley. Customers and patrons of Gerrish Honda knew him as Mr. Vroom Vroooom, due to the many radio and television commercials he made where he closed his sales pitch with the phrase "Vroom Vrooooom!" He shared, "In this wonderful world of cars, you can ride a pinto, a black stallion, an Arabian or an old gray mare. I love cars as a vehicle for expressing myself. I charge my batteries by selling cars."

However, selling cars was just a small part of Kurt's busy and industrious life. He was the state campaign director for Vermont Governor Dean C. Davis in 1968. In 1972, he opened and developed the Woodstock East Marketplace, the Scrub-A-Dub car wash and coin operated laundry facility, and the Green Mountain Craftsman and Antiques. Kurt's antique knowledge was specialized in Chippendale and country primitives. In the same year he opened the Rumbleseat Rathskeller Restaurant, which he owned until 1979. During that time, he was also a director of the Gregson Insurance Company. He served on the Woodstock Zoning Board, as well as on the board of trustees of the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, an organization he generously supported. As a car dealer, Kurt won awards for excellence and integrity. Above all, the wisdom he so readily shared regarding business made a wide impression, and his endeavors provided many in the community with employment and opportunities.

Kurt was an artist, a scrabble player, a seeker of knowledge and experiences. His love of sports included tennis, paddle tennis, and golf and he loved going to the races in Saratoga. He had an appreciation for art, French wines, and beautiful antiques. He raced cars nationally in the IMSA series under the Gerrish Auto Show Racing Team. Auto racing gave him deep thrills, hours of pinpoint concentration and breathless release while touring the country, racing on high-speed tracks and in endurance bouts from 1987-1989. He said, "The essence of racing is being just out of control, always pushing the envelope."

He was always available for friends and family in their times of need, as a mentor, as a leader, and most of all as a friend. Those close to Kurt could rely on him for his thoughtful advice and his kind heart to help guide them in hard or difficult decisions. Kurt's boisterous laugh made others smile. He had a knack for storytelling and found pleasure in sharing his experiences among family and friends.

Kurt is survived by his loving wife Phyllis of 31 years, and children, Scott (Wendy) Gerrish, Brad (Sue) Gerrish, Kristin (Harvey) Abouelata, Stacey Gerrish, Jennifer (Doug) Raymond and Greg (Adriana) Brooks, and grandchildren Anna Gerrish, Liam Gerrish, Nicole Gerrish, Tate Gerrish, Sophia Abouelata, Natalie Abouelata, Alexandra Raymond and Robert "Nick" Raymond.

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held Saturday July 15 ^th , 2023 in Woodstock, VT at the Unitarian Universalist Church beginning at 1:30pm with the celebration to continue at Leading Fields.

A recording of the service can be found at the following link: https://youtu.be/C0Xz7Ye4zbA