Donald Lamson Gerow

October 13, 1940 - February 18, 2018

AUBURN- Donald Lamson Gerow, 77, formerly of Lewiston, died on Sunday, February 18, 2018, at the Hospice House in Auburn following a long illness. Born in Waterloo, Iowa, on October 13, 1940, he was the son of Donald Edwin Gerow and Maxine Russell Lamson. Following Maxine’s death in 1942, Don and his sister were raised in Washington D.C., by their paternal grandmother and Don’s beloved Aunt Alice Heber Gerow. Don cherished his Huguenot roots and took great pride in the fact that his maternal grandfather's home, the Rensselaer Russell House, is a museum in Waterloo, Iowa, and that his paternal family tree was said to include Henri Giraud, the head of the French resistance, and General Leonard Gerow, one of the top American field commanders during WWII. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Don served a brief time in the Navy OCS before receiving a medical discharge, and began his career in the insurance industry working for the INA (now CIGNA) in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1969, he moved with his first wife, Claudia Hughes, and their two children to Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he eventually became the Northern New England Field Representative for the St. Paul Insurance Companies. He later served as a Medical Malpractice Specialist for the St. Paul, and ended his career in insurance as VP of Marketing for Medical Mutual Insurance Co. in Portland. In retirement, he served as a notary and also served as a volunteer for the Maine Ombudsman Program. Don’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1977, and in 1992, he married Suzanne R. Roy of Lewiston. Together they indulged in Don’s love of travel and dining out and celebrated every Thanksgiving for many years on Sanibel and Marco islands in Florida. Don loved to explore new places and was always able to direct family and friends to travel and dining destinations that rarely disappointed. Don is survived by his best friend, Suzanne R. Roy of Lewiston; his son, Mark Hughes Gerow of Monterey, MA; his grandsons, Haedyn Gerow of NYC and Finn Gerow of Monterey, MA; his sister’s children, Michael Moomaw, William Brookshire, and Pamela Borst, all of Georgia; several cousins; and his Roy family, Roland and Gabrielle of Lewiston, Paul and Denise of Santa Clara, CA, George and Gisele of Holden, Bob and Gayle of Winthrop, and their many children and grandchildren, including Joseph Roy of Lewiston, a nephew with whom Don had a special bond. He was predeceased by his sister Anne, who died in 1969, and his daughter Jennifer Russell Gerow, who died in 2013. NOTICE Gerow- Died in Auburn on Sunday, February 18, 2018. Mr. Donald L. age 77 a resident of Auburn. A memorial service honoring Donald’s life will be celebrated on Monday at 2:00 PM at the Pinette Dillingham and Lynch Funeral Home. Burial will be held privately at St. Peter’s Cemetery. A memorial gathering will be held on Sunday from 6-8 PM only at the Pinette Dillingham & Lynch Funeral Home 305 Alfred A. Plourde Parkway, Lewiston 784-4023.