Community
C.O.B. statement on the passing of Dr. Donald T. Gerace
Mar 9, 2016 - 2:02:47 AM

Nassau, Bahamas - Dr. Donald T. Gerace, 83, of Port Charlotte, Florida, passed away peacefully March 6th, 2016 after a brief and sudden illness. Dr. Gerace was an educator whose passion for the marine sciences, archaeology, geology, and biology of the Caribbean inspired the scholarship of many students and researchers. A selfless person, Don Gerace dedicated his life to the work of the Gerace Centre and over the past 40 years, ensured that Bahamian students had access to countless scholarship opportunities in the United States. He received the Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award in 2010. In 2011, he wrote a book entitled "Life Quest: Building the Gerace Research Centre, San Salvador, Bahamas" an autobiography about Don, his family and the history of the Gerace Centre.

The Gerace Research Centre (GRC), formerly the Bahamian Field Station, on San Salvador is a centre for the study of archaeology, biology, geology and the marine sciences; and is the largest such institution in the Caribbean. It was founded in 1971 by a consortium of colleges and universities in New York State known as the College Centre of the Finger Lakes. When the Finger Lakes Consortium left, Don and his wife Kathy remained. Together, they grew the field station into a Centre of Excellence renowned throughout the world. His desire to ensure the sustainability of the Centre in perpetuity, led to the transfer of the Station to The College of The Bahamas in 2006. The Centre accommodates international and local researchers and facilitates tuition scholarships for Bahamian students to attend colleges and universities in the United States. The Centre boasts 18 affiliate universities and 91 regular visiting universities and entities including the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation.

Personnel of the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Department of Forestry, the Department of Archives, and the Bahamas Education, Science, and Technology Commission use the vast amount of scientific information that has been generated from the research at the GRC as resource material. GRC publications are located in the libraries of the College of The Bahamas, St. John's College, BEST, and the Department of Archives.

The college expresses its sincere condolences to his entire family, especially his dear wife Kathy, his daughter Debbie and his sister Tina. Dr. Gerace’s funeral will be held on Friday, March 11th at 11 a.m. at San Antonio Catholic Church in Port Charlotte, Florida.A memorial service for Dr. Gerace will be held at The College of The Bahamas at a later date.

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