Miriam Gerlach

Requiescat in pace Miriam Gerlach

Miriam “Mimi” Gerlach passed away on June 28, 2020 in Ocala, Florida. She was affectionately known by the CLS community as Frau or Frau Gerlach, teaching German, Social Studies, Speech, and managing the library from 1989 to 2006. She is survived by Garry, her husband of 43 years, and daughters Kristi ’96 and Karin ’98.

I sat down with Kristi and Karin to talk about Frau and her time at Covington Latin School as part of an ongoing series of articles by the CLS Alumni Association about former faculty and administration.

Karin said it best, Frau “loved everything at Latin School. She lived and breathed the school. Even after retirement, she would have dropped everything to help out.” Kristi shared that Latin School was a community in which Frau found a home.

Frau could always be found in the library; it was a place she cherished and made special for the students. If you were looking for your friend, you would check the locker room, the classroom and, of course, the library. The library was where students met during lunch, study hall or tutorial, to work on a paper, during, before and after school - it was a home, a community, curated by Frau to be a space that was welcoming to the students.

As the CLS German teacher, Frau coordinated and coached a generation of CLS students in competitions at the Foreign Languages Festival – where high schools throughout the state of Kentucky still compete for various academic and non-academic categories. Her students regularly swept the field, both in regional and state competitions. One of her favored categories was the German Choir competition which combined her passions for music and German.

Frau was a ready volunteer, willing to coach or sponsor any team or organization. She coached a variety of Academic Teams and Governor’s Cup Teams. She moderated the Cross Country and Track teams, even though Kristi shared “she never ran.” She organized outings for exchange students. Explaining Frau’s involvement in all things CLS, Karin shared that “Mom was so proud of her students, whatever their accomplishments, whatever they won or whatever they tried. She was grateful to be involved because she knew each kid would be spectacular, and she was grateful to be part of their story. The kids were her 3rd, and 4th, and 5th child.”

Kristi and Karin thought you may have noticed as one of her students that she had a strange seating chart, terrible handwriting, and a fashion sense that never changed. Some of the many qualities we remember about Frau, and part of what made German such an enjoyable class.

Frau rarely seated her students by last name – or rather by the first letter of your last name. There was a system, just never one that was clear – sometimes seating would be ordered by the 3rd letter of your last name, or the 4th letter of your first name converted to a number and subtracted by the 2nd letter of your last name converted to a number. She was clever and creative.

Kristi explained that when Frau was learning to write, she was left-handed, and the school tied her hand behind her back to make her write with her right hand. It never really took, and she had terrible penmanship with both hands.

Frau had a perpetual 80s European look, a style that her daughters say never really changed. Her closet was full of floral prints and wool. When she moved to Florida, she just added more shorts to go with the floral prints.

The daughter of an Air Force Master Sergeant and his German wife, Frau learned German in her home as a child. She grew up living on bases throughout Europe, where she developed a love of language, art, culture, and travel. Passions that would continue throughout her life and passed along to her family, and her many friends who became family.

As kids, Kristi remembers they would take trips to cities for their Museums – Chicago for the Field Museum, Detroit for The Henry Ford Museum. The daughters have many friends who credit their first museum experience to Frau taking them for a museum day at Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft or Union Terminal. The family would go almost every weekend.

Travel remained an important part of the family’s life with a few large trips, most recently traveling as a family to Hawaii to celebrate Miriam and Garry’s 40th Wedding Anniversary. In 2012, Kristi and Frau traveled to Germany together to meet extended family. Gary and Fran regularly attended his navy reunions in San Francisco, Texas, and New Orleans.

After retirement from CLS, Frau and Garry moved to Florida to enjoy the beach and the warm weather. The retirement didn’t last long, and she quickly found her way back to the classroom for several more years, teaching middle school social studies from 2008 to 2015. Kristi says she believes her Mom was hoping to recreate the community she found at CLS at this new school.

Frau never lost her roots as a librarian serving in her retirement community’s libary. She learned to golf – but was still learning. Active in the community, she did everything - water aerobics, golf team, and bunco. Her choir regularly performed concerts, most memorably singing a playlist of Disney songs.

Kristi and Karin’s love for their Mom is readily apparent. They credit her with many of their best attributes (e.g. love of travel, art, culture), and some others as well (e.g. Kristi’s clumsiness). They shared that she was really supportive, letting them try anything. “She never denied us an opportunity and encouraged us to expand our horizons – to get out there and try something new. Even when she was disappointed, she never held onto it. She was easy going.”

During what was expected to be a simple surgery, doctors discovered cancer throughout Frau’s body. She declined quickly and passed 13 days after finding the cancer. Kristi and Karin were thankful for Frau’s doctors and care team that explored every option to treat her. The doctors were able to keep Frau in a stable condition, long enough for Kristi and Karin to make it to Ocala and spend time with her at hospice before she fell into a coma.

After Frau’s passing, many people reached out to Garry to share their condolences. The Gerlach Family appreciated the many prayers and support from throughout the community. It meant a great deal to Kristi and Karin to hear from so many from the Covington Latin School community – particularly their classmates. It didn’t surprise them that so many people reached out because Frau’s impact never stopped.

Garry continues to live in Ocala, Florida, where he has cherished the support he has received from his friends and neighbors. Kristi Gerlach ‘96 lives in Los Angeles, California. She is an Entertainment Project Manager for the L.A. Times. Karin Gerlach ’98 lives in Phoenix, Arizona. She is Campaign Planning Specialist for Circle K – North America.

A special thanks to Kristi and Karin Gerlach for sharing the story of their Mom. I will always remember her big smile and laugh. Gute Nacht, Frau Gerlach.

-Tom Rauf ‘99