German Leyva Rivera or Gerry as he was affectionately called, was born in the Philippines and was called home by the Lord...
Gerry was born in the Manila suburb of Lucena.
During WW2,as a youth he joined the Filipino guerrillas fighting the Japanese.
In high school he enrolled in the ROTC program and studied with distinction and graduated as a valedictorian.
After high school, Gerry enrolled at Feati Technical Institute (Far East Air Transport Incorporated University) and in 1952 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
The following year, passed his Engineering boards scoring in the upper 20% (out of 300 candidates).
In 1956, Gerry married Gilda Perez, a registered nurse. They have 1 son German, Jr or Jun for short.
In 1966 the family immigrated to the United States and Gilda was already had job waiting in N.J. as an OR nurse for the Veteran's Administration hospital.
Gerry found his calling and started a career in die casting. He was hired Prestolock for his mechanical engineering background and aptitude . However, he had little knowledge of how die casting worked. So endless and nights were spent at the library reading all there was about die casting. He became a technical lead in the company and was highly sought after by his peers and management.
In 1975 the whole family moved again to Los Angeles. Gerry was hired as a supervisor LA Die Casting, which made molds for Slot machine part among other parts.
He and Gilda started a small apartment building business and at one time had 5 properties.
In 1995, they sold all the apartment buildings and began traveling through Europe and Asia.
Gerry was very active in the Catholic church, serving in many capacities and has been an integral part of his life
And he was passionate about music. He played guitar by ear and sang many hymns and Filipino love songs.
His other passion, overshadowing all else was dancing. He fondly remembers dancing in New York at the Roseland Dance hall with friends and family. Get togethers and parties in L.A. were always accompanied by music and dancing. And recently he danced at various senior centers with his partner Carol Mann. Their favorite dance was the tango.
German is survived by his son German, Jr and his wife Donna, his grandchildren Stephanie and her husband Josh and their 3 children, Jackson, Cadence and Maverick, Sarah and her husband Matt and Joshua. He is also survived by her sister Ros Villacorte and brother and sister in laws and numerous nephews and nieces who call him "Tio Gerry".
Our family would like to thank all of you who have prayed and have shown support at this time. Your thoughts are deeply appreciated. We will miss him dearly yet we have the unspeakable joy of knowing that he has flown in the presence of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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