John Gearhart was a man of great generosity and charity. In keeping with his wishes, his friends and relatives gathered for a pre-arranged meal at the Duquesne Club upon his passing on April 13, 1991, to celebrate his life and toast his kindness in the distribution of $7.5 million left to family, friends and charity.
John was born in Altoona, the son of Harry J. and Anna Gearhart. The family moved to Bellevue shortly thereafter where John grew up. He attended public school, graduating from Peabody High School in 1922. John went on to attend University of Pittsburgh for two years before he transferred to Dartmouth College where he graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration.
His first position was as an Accountant with Ernst and Ernst (later Ernst and Whinney) where he met his wife Hazel. They married in 1928.
John went on to work for Lewis W. Hicks in 1930 and manage several of his coal companies, known as the Hicks Coal Interests, eventually becoming Vice President of Sales. He resigned in 1950 and began his own consulting business, specializing in accumulating large tracts of coal in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio for leasing and development by major coal and steel companies. John took an active interest in his investments at this time, a highly successful pursuit that enabled him to retire from his consulting activities in 1960. He went on to become Director of several companies, the largest of which was Colt Industries.
Hazel died in 1981. The couple had no children so when John passed away ten years later, it was his family, friends and charity whom benefitted. Upon his passing, an unrestricted fund was established to perpetuate his name and generosity for years to come.
Type of Fund
- Unrestricted