James Hamilton Geer's Obituary
James Hamilton Geer, 94, of Dunedin and Boca Grande passed away peacefully on Friday, March 15, 2019. He threw himself fully into everything he did, no matter if it was running major corporations, church boards, his kids sports schedules, or family road trips. He
loved life and enjoyed enabling others to do the same. He was dedicated to his wife, Patricia, of 46 years, and to his children – James Jr., Echo, Chris, Mike and Suzanne.
Jim was born on June 25, 1924 in Fort Oglethorpe, GA to Joseph White Geer, Colonel in the Cavalry and Katharine Ellis (Hamilton) Geer. He spent his childhood stationed many places as an army brat and spent summers on Dune Road in Westhampton Beach. He attended Manlius Military Prep School ‘42, and served in the infantry as a first lieutenant of the U.S. Army throughout World War II, stationed in Greenland. He unfortunately lost his older brother Joe near the end of the war in a German POW camp. After the war he attended Williams College, cum laude ‘49. He continued on to Harvard Business School, with distinction ‘51.
Jim had an impressive finance career starting with successful stints at Dupont, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and ACF Industries. Finally, Jim joined CBS Television Network in 1959, staying until retirement in 1981. He worked his way up from Controller of the Network to Chief Financial Officer of the entire CBS Broadcast Group. His teams oversaw the creation of the advertising model that drove content creation by the major networks for decades.
Jim is predeceased by his brother Joseph White Geer Jr., his sister Frances Lawrence, and his son James Hamilton Geer Jr. He is survived by his wife Patricia; his daughters Echo Reardanz (Rob) and Suzanne Kijewski (Mike); by his sons Chris Geer (Kelly) and Mike Geer (Marina); and by his grandchildren, Logan and Heather Reardanz, Maverick, Mckinley and Nina Geer, and Genevieve and James Kijewski.
In lieu of flowers--donations may be made to: Suncoast Hospice Foundation https://suncoasthospicefoundation.org/donations/
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