Gerard B. Podesta ’39

Jeff was captain of our undefeated tennis team in 1938, the year he also was the Eastern Clay Court champion (a feat he repeated in the summer of 1939). One of his coaches was “Big Bill” Tilden.

 

He attended the University of Virginia School of Law along with four classmates (Backes, Duer, Harris, and Hobler). After receiving his law degree he entered the Navy, serving as a lieutenant in the Amphibious Command. He then worked for a law firm in Newton, N.J., for three years before establishing his own firm of Podesta, Myers & Crammond. His specialties were land-development, estates, municipal matters, and public schools. He retired from law, but not from tennis, in 1990.

 

He is survived by Elizabeth, his wife of 65 years; two children; and three grandchildren.

 

In our 50th-reunion book, Jeff concluded a review of his life in 1989 by writing, “I would love a replay of the above, for the overall fun far outweighs any unpleasant interruptions.”