Randal Gerber 1965 - 2022 Family: Melissa (Hammond) Gerber (Wife); Nathaniel Gerber (son); Alison Gerber (daughter); Leonardo DiCatrio and Poppy (cats) Randy was born in Ohio but moved at an early age with his family to South Carolina. There he graduated from Dorman High School in Spartanburg, SC, where he played football and soccer. He made many lifelong friends here and was known to frequent the staple of Spartanburg, the Beacon. After an abbreviated service in the US Coast Guard, Randy attended the University of South Carolina (the real USC) and majored in Marine Biology, his passion. He would later work in the Marine Biology Department’s Baruch Institute while attending school and would travel to the South Carolina coast on a weekly basis to collect coastal samples for research. While at USC, he made many lifelong friends, enjoyed playing on his intramural soccer team, and became a Gamecock for life. No matter how much anxiety and stress watching the Gamecocks might have brought, he could not stop yelling “I LOVE MY COCKS!” Upon graduation from USC, he went on to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston to earn a degree in Physical Therapy. He then moved to South Florida (a goal of his since childhood) where he started work at North Broward Medical Center and met the love of his life, Melissa. Melissa and Randy enjoyed playing beach volleyball, snorkeling, going to Marlins games together, and taking numerous trips to tropical destinations, and they married in 1994. Nathaniel “joined” the family in 1998, and Alison followed in 2001. “Bud” and “Angel” were the lights of his life. From the energy he brought to a room and his stories and jokes that he told, it was clear that Randy loved life. He loved working out in the yard among his palm trees and tropical fauna and would introduce that passion to his son later. In his free time, he loved to watch sports of all kinds, including Marlins baseball games, Florida Panthers hockey games, Chicago Bears football games, and everything Gamecocks. He loved the Florida culture, where he enjoyed boating, jet skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, trips to the Florida Keys, and reading at the beach. Another love of his was food, and he never met a Krispy Kreme doughnut he didn’t love. In order to enjoy those even more, he enjoyed running, walking, and biking local nature trails, too. Above all else, he was a family man, and nothing made him happier than hanging out with his family. Throughout his life, Randy was an active member of the church and enjoyed church softball games, reading at mass, and connecting with the parish community. Randy was known to be the life of the party and was loved by everyone he met. He faced a difficult battle with cancer, and his resilience and warrior spirit gave us all something to admire and learn from. In the wake of this, he never wavered in his positivity and kindness to those around him. Our world is forever changed now that we don’t have Randy with us, but we are lucky to have known him and loved him. In lieu of flowers, we are accepting donations for the Visiting Nurse Association of Florida where Randy worked for 12 years. They treated him like family and supported him unconditionally through good times and challenges. Please donate here: VNA| Home Care Foundation (vnaflorida.org) or visit the Visiting Nurse Association of Florida website, click Foundation, then Donate and write “In memory of Randy Gerber” in the subject line if you would like to donate.