Dr. Gerard Harry Rothschild, formally of Boone, NC and currently of Asheville, NC, middle son of the late Ludwig and Hildegard Strauss Rothschild, was born in Heidelberg, Germany on October 25, 1928 and passed away at the Givens Estates Health Care Center on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. Dr. Rothschild emigrated with his family to the United States when he was seven years old. After spending two years in New York City, his family moved to Greenville, SC.
After graduating from Greenville Senior High, he matriculated to Emory University where he majored in experimental psychology. During the Korean War, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force where he served four years at Randolph Army Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas doing psychological research. Upon his honorable discharge as Staff Sergeant, he enrolled at The Johns Hopkins University and received a doctoral degree in Psychology.
On the first day of classes, he met his future wife, Judith Rice, whom he married on June 16, 1956. He held academic appointments at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, The Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Boston University Graduate School, and was a fellow at Harvard University. As a founding member of the Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, he was well known for his storytelling and shared many of his adventures with the fellowship and others.
He appreciated classical music and enjoyed listening to his favorite composer, Johannes Brahms. He was an accomplished amateur chef and throughout his life he accumulated over 400 cookbooks. He was a member of the Watauga County Arts Council and the Boone Kiwanis Club.
He was an avid traveler and enjoyed visiting many different countries and tasting the local cuisines. He was accepting of all faiths and loved making connections with others and did so up until his last days. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dr. Judith Rice Rothschild of Asheville; daughter, Julia Rothschild Gidney and her husband Dr. Mark Gidney of Frisco, CO; granddaughter, Davis Cecilia Gidney of Denver, CO; step granddaughter, Lisa Gidney Redman, her partner Elizabeth West and two step great-grandsons, Landrum and Aydan Redman of West Jefferson, NC.
Dr. Rothschild is also survived by his two brothers; Alfred Frank Rothschild of San Marino, CA and younger brother Herbert Fred Rothschild of Isle of Palms, SC, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 24, 2019 at 2:00 pm in the Pulliam Chapel at Givens Estates, 100 Wesley Drive, Asheville, NC 28803. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 381 E. King Street, Boone, NC 28607.
His body has been bequeathed to the medical school at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for research.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
