Klaiber, Gerhart

Gerhart Klaiber, 77, beloved husband, father, brother and grandfather, left 
this life on September 26, 2009 after bravely enduring numerous complications 
from Hodgkins Lymphoma. Born in 1932 in Erlangen, Germany, he experienced a 
difficult childhood during World War II, culminating in the kidnapping of his 
father, a renowned nuclear physicist, by the Soviets in 1945. As a young boy, 
he managed to help support his mother and little brother, finish his schooling, 
and complete his university education in time for his father's release in 1953. 
Four years later, Gerhart's family was invited by the United States Government 
to emigrate to the United States, where his father Fritz worked on various 
military projects at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Along with his wife Emilie and 
their daughter Eva, Gerhart moved to New Jersey where he began an illustrious 
lifelong career in telecommunications, working for Siemens and starting four 
companies of his own, each to great success, including his last business 
venture in Scottsdale, Arizona, from which he retired in 1990. He holds 
numerous patents for telecommunications equipment and never tired of 
researching and discussing anything technological. He was always a phone call 
away with technical questions of any kind. No electronics question was too big 
or small for him, and he loved to figure out complicated projects and fix 
anything broken or malfunctioning. Friends and neighbors loved the high-end 
garage sales at Gerhart's house, where electronics bargains abounded! In better 
times, Dad loved to walk along the beach, travel around the United States, 
Europe, and the Far East, and work on endless projects around the house. One of 
his favorite trips was a recent vacation to Costa Rica with his son-in-law 
Andy, which he frequently mentioned as one of the best adventures of his life. 
He was, as we say in German, a Feinschmecker: he loved quality in everything - 
especially food, wine and beer. He visited numerous wineries in the Napa and 
Sonoma regions of California, taking great pleasure in learning about the 
growing of grapes. On summer trips to Europe, he delighted in his favorite 
German delicacies amidst the beautiful alpine setting of their second home in 
Bavaria. He was deeply sentimental, traveling back to the fruit-growing regions 
of his childhood in the Black Forest region of Germany and, in 1990, actually 
taking a hammer to the Berlin wall and chopping several chunks off the wall for 
posterity. Those pieces are proudly displayed in his home office. A quiet and 
sensitive soul, he had a deep love for classical music, modern art and 
architecture, and philosophy. He was a wonderful example of pride in 
workmanship, quiet devotion, and deep conviction. He recently celebrated his 
50th wedding anniversary while bravely enduring debilitating chemotherapy 
treatments. He leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Emilie; two daughters, Eva 
Garvey (Ken) and Kim Kunasek (Andy); his brother, Erich and five grandchildren, 
Marissa and Ryan Garvey and Emily, Katie and Matthew Kunasek. Gute Reise, 
Vatti. You will be forever in our hearts, an inspiration to each of us to do 
good and be good. Memorial services will be held at 11AM, Friday, October 2, 
2009, Hansen Desert Hills Chapel, 6500 E. Bell Rd., Scottsdale. Inurnment will 
follow the service, Desert Hills Memorial Park. 

Published in The Arizona Republic on September 30, 2009