Gerber, Richard J., 88 of New Port Richey passed away on August 7, 2019. He was born on May 9, 1931 in Weehawken, NJ to the late Frank and Lillian (Couzzo) Gerber. He was a life partner for over 30 years to the late, Dorothy Beekman. Richard is survived by his son Rich, his daughter in-law Jenny, his grandchildren Brian and his wife Tiffanie, and Kali and her husband Jeremy “Shockey”, and his great grandchildren Andrew, Lauren, Lewis, and Ben. Richard served in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict, where he was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant. He furthered his Air Force career in the reserves where he earned the rank of Captain. Beyond his military career, a few of Richard’s most cherished achievements included earning a Master’s Degree in Engineering from Steven’s Institute of Technology, a 10 year civilian career with the US Army, 10 year executive management careers with Alcan corporation and Alcoa corporation and captaining his Steven’s Tech college basketball team. Over his life Richard was active with NARFE, the Elks and Father Flannigan’s Boys Town. To his family and most intimate friends, Richard was lovingly nicknamed “Chief”. A Funeral service will take place on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 10:30am at Michels-Lundquist Funeral Home. Burial with Military honors will take place at 2pm at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fl.