Michael Geller ’63

Michael Geller ’63 died July 11, 2014, when his heart gave out after a long bicycle ride, according to Steve Macht ’63, Mike’s college roommate and lifelong friend. Mike resided in Seattle with Carolyn, his wife of 48 years. A brother of Pi Lambda Phi and an art major at Dartmouth, Mike joined the Andrew Geller family shoe business in New York City and stayed in the women’s shoe business for most of his career. His work took him to Italy for five and a half years in the 1970s. In 2000 Mike joined Nordstrom and moved to Seattle. He also did business consulting and worked at Costco. In 2009 Mike joined an international health and nutrition company. While in Seattle Mike served as president of his synagogue, leading it through a “traumatic year” in which its founding rabbi was replaced by a younger rabbi. “It was a pivotal point of leadership in my life,” Mike wrote, “learning what impact one can have, communicating from a place of compassion and sensitivity and making a difference in a whole community.” In 2009 Mike turned his focus to his physical health. He lost 25 pounds in 45 days. A marathoner, he trained six months and at age 70 climbed Mount Rainier. Mike’s Dartmouth legacy includes his father Bertram Geller ’37, brother William Geller ’71 and uncle Alvin Florin ’33 (all deceased) and cousin Robert Florin ’68. Besides Carolyn, Mike is survived by his brother Joseph, children Gregory and Amanda and four grandchildren.