Another, better look at the life of Pete Geiger

Sandy Geiger, the late BJ reporter Pete Geiger’s wife who lives in the Penney Farms, Florida, Christian retirement community, was kind enough to send me the funeral home sheet on Pete which provided some information I didn’t know about the best religion writer in BJ history.

Pete passed away in his sleep Jan. 29, 2015, only 10 days after Pete and Sandy and their son, Bill Geiger of a Detroit suburb, had lunch with former BJ editor John Olesky and former State Desk reporter Paula Tucker in Leesburg, Florida.

Pete between wife Sandy & John Olesky 
10 days before his death

Additional details about Pete’s life:

He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and attended Boys High School in Philadelphia and is a psychology graduate of Eastern Baptist College (later re-named Eastern University).

He wrote the Elvis Presley obituary that was published around the world and used instead of the one sent by some newspapers’ reporters who were on the scene because Pete got the funeral details – including the names of celebrities who attended -- while hitchhiking a ride back to Akron from Memphis on Rex Humbard’s private plane. All those years of covering the televangelist's activities paid off big-time.

He taught journalism at Malone College in Canton.

Pete and Sandra Kay Geiger taught English for a 13 years in Mongolia. They were married 53 years.

The funeral home tome also quotes liberally from the BJ Alums tribute to Pete that I wrote shortly after his death. (Click on http://bjretirees.blogspot.com/search?q=Pete+Geiger+passes+away to read that tribute to Pete).

Pete leaves his wife, Sandy; son Bill Geiger of Roseville, Michigan, a Detroit suburb; son Roger Geiger of Gainesville, Florida; daughter Virginia Ross Biss of North Canton; sister Judith Ann Runte of Germany, who shared her memories of Pete at the funeral home services; sisters-in-law Peggie Geiger of West Hartford, Connecticut, and Laurie Klein; brother-in-law Bob Klein of Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania; and 10 grandchildren.

RIP, again, Pete. I loved your low-key humor with a twinkle in your eyes, and that you once said I gave you the best career advice you had ever gotten (what it was will remain between Pete and me till we meet the other Peter in Heaven) at a rocky time at the BJ for you.

It was one of the most flattering things anyone has ever said to me in my 82 years, 4 months and 5 days on this planet.