A Tale of Two Georges: Listening at Life’s End

Georges Gerard’s home in the San Mateo Convalescent Hospital is arranged as he likes it. To one side of his bed is a worktable piled with books, papers and correspondence. On the other side, his nightstand is an impromptu bar featuring his favorite Glenfiddich Scotch, brandy and wine.

Gerard, 86, is dying from a variety of illnesses. A former college language teacher and author, he continues to write essays, which he hopes his executor will publish after his death.

“I’m on my last legs, but no complaints,” he says. “I’m still active, I still drink beer (at lunch daily) and George keeps me busy.” “George” is Mission Hospice volunteer George Fulvio. He initially agreed in November to visit for an hour weekly. Now, he comes twice a week for two hours at a stretch, just to listen to Gerard’s life stories.

“First thing is I’m French,” Gerard announces. “I can’t hear, and I’m old. Otherwise, I’m almost normal.”

Then he launches into his story: Born in Chateau-Thierry, he spent most of World War II working as a prisoner/typesetter in Germany and Poland, including stints in two hard labor camps and the Berlin prison. He managed to escape Berlin a step ahead of the Russian occupation.

Returning to France, he became a prisoner in his own country when his passport was withheld so he would continue to serve as an interpreter. Over the next few years, he lived and worked in Switzerland, Brazil and Canada before landing in San Francisco, a union town where he could work as a typographer. He also met his wife, Hilde, at an international social club in San Francisco. He was 32.

“Who wants to marry young?” he shrugs. “Not me. Too many girls, and I was very weak. I enjoyed life.”

He and Hilde, who was German, were together for 43 years. As the printing business became mechanized, Gerard decided on a career change. He studied French, Spanish and German at UC Berkeley and earned a doctorate in comparative literature. He taught languages at Solano Community College in Fairfield for more than 20 years while he and Hilde lived in Mill Valley, where she managed a private swim club. They used his summer vacations to travel around the U.S. in their camper and the rest of the world via annual cruises.

After his retirement, Hilde insisted that he write about his life. The result is Ariadne’s Thread, Vol. 1 (They Came Marching In) and Vol. 2 (Jails Without Bars). The 3,000-page book took eight years to write and went into a second printing. Among Gerard’s few remaining possessions is a battered suitcase filled with photos that back up the book and which he intends to go to the Library of Congress after his death.

For Fulvio, a retired lawyer who survived his own bout with cancer in 1993, volunteering with people like Gerard gives him the opportunity to do what he misses most about his law practice – be of service to others. He also finds it a spiritual experience, and, in Gerard’s case, a very educational one.

“He’s taught me about the entire history of language,” he adds. Then, as he turns back to his friend, he asks, “Last time, you had just told me about meeting Hilde. What happened next?”