Obituaries/Viewings
Wade Edward Geer | 73
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Wade Edward Geer, 73, of Ithaca, NY and Fort Lauderdale, FL, passed away unexpectedly October 10, 2021, in Ithaca.
Wade was born July 18, 1948, in St. Marys, son of the late Norbert Wade Geer and Cecilia Auman Geer. He was a graduate of Elk County Christian High School, Class of 1966. Wade joined the Marines at the age of 17 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries received in combat and was honorably discharged, having obtained the rank of Corporal in the United States Marine Corps 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment 1st Provisional Rifle Company. Wade attended Cornell University spending time in Ithaca, NY and Fort Lauderdale, FL. He worked for various NASE Motorsport corporations and was a former Crew Member at NASCAR. He was proud of his service in the Marine Corps, actively working with Agent Orange organizations. He was a talented artist and was always willing to share his knowledge and love of cars and racing.
Wade is survived by and will be dearly missed by his sisters: Cindy (Andy) Lasko of Chardon, OH; Lorelie (Larry) Newell of St. Marys; and Meredith (Michael) Dailey of Cranberry Twp.; nieces: Tara (Dan) Mitchell, Bethany (Andrew) Zipf, Mallory (Michael) Maher, Heidi (Mike) Harper, and Heather (Sean) Fern; nephews: Trevor and Joshua Trentine, Matthew Newell and Sean (Laura) Dailey; great nieces and nephews: Harper, Graysen, and Drew Zipf, Ava and Reese Harper and Cameron Fern; aunts: Rose Geer, Doris Geer, Sylvia Sutka, and Angie Auman; and by many, many cousins and friends.
As a good friend said “Wade was quite the character, he’s been most everywhere, knew most everyone and was more than willing to tell you all about it” …… until we meet again Wade.
Family and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Service to be held in the Lynch-Radkowski Funeral Home on Monday, October 25, 2021, at 1:00 PM. Full military rites will be accorded by the St. Marys Servicemen’s Burial Detail. Burial will be in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation will be held at the Lynch-Radkowski Funeral Home on Monday, from 12:00 PM until the time of the service.
Events
I was just thinking about Wade and Google turned this up. So sorry to hear about his passing. We spent many hours in the Royal Palm, now many years ago. I have several of his collages in my collection. I know many of our mutual acquaintances will be saddened by this.
I put a letter to Wade on his Facebook site. We were friends for a long time. He truly was special in all ways. We cried and laughed together, I will never forget the love he had for people. He often spoke of his love for his family. He told me the last time we spoke, love of a family was the most important. I feel a great sadness that we did not get a chance to say goodbye. He left like my son did. I will always remember him for his kind words, his strength, tenderness, honest personality. I did not want you leave me, when I was down you were there.
Wade E. Geer aka “Steve Savage” was one of the most unique, artistic friends I ever had in high school. We were survivors of ’66. He kept us entertained constantly throughout a repressive and stifling time. He was the clown to my clown. He always yearned to take his rod on the road with rock and roll on the headphones to drown out less important things in his head. He was the DJ on my Casino’s intercom. He spent high school banquets creating artwork on the paper tablecloth to be thrown away. He marked up my yearbook so much that it became a work of art., giving himself a goatee and racing stripe. Sadly, I threw it away. Nothing can ever throw away the memories, friendship and place in the history of my life that Waydee was creator of. I don’t know when I lost track of my savage friend. He sent me photographs from Vietnam so maybe only he and I would understand what we were doing there. Much later, he sent me an album of his life so his life would make sense to some (and himself). His life was as colorful and strange as I could have imagined. He was always dancing in and out of my life. Whenever he was in the area, we had a parting glass, just in case. Tonight, I will have a parting glass for the trail he blazed across my sky. Wade, I still hear your song playing in my headphones. I know you’re still dancing. Someday, I’ll dance again with you. I can’t wait to meet “always in high Geer” again where the road is always open and the rock and roll won’t need headphones, only amps.
Dennis McGeehan
Our condolences to the family. We corresponded during Wade’s tenure with the Marine’s. The obit was correct, Wade loved to tinker. After the military, we raced bikes and enjoyed life. Wade was an artist, he (along with several of us) painted my Chevy “psychodelic” but he was the director of operations. Although we have lost track of each other over the decades, it was an honor to be able to call Wade a friend.