Germaine Beatrice (Pitts) Rezac

Germaine (“Gerri”) Beatrice Rezac (née Pitts), age 68, of Charlotte, North Carolina (and formerly Macedonia, Ohio) was called to meet Jesus on Saturday afternoon; May 26, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina after her fourth, and final battle with cancer.  She was born on March 17, 1950 in Cleveland, Ohio to Joe and Angeline Pitts (deceased), attended Nordonia High School in Macedonia, Ohio and Murray State University.   She married James Rezac on May 1, 1989.  Gerri worked most recently at Lowe's Home Improvement as a Kitchen Specialist/Install Sales Manager in Northfield, Ohio.  She also worked a great number of years at PPG in the paint lab and factory representative and at Concert Communications she was in a national sales role.  Gerri was passionate about assisting her local church and community in any way needed and she was able.  Gerri was the beloved mother of Tammy Mitchell, Ryan and Tim Havlicek; Nick (and Stacy) Rezac.  She was a dear grandmother to Jordan, Kendall and Alex.  Loving sister to Jo Ann (Tom) Hlinka (deceased), Wally (Joyce) Pitts and Jackie (Jim) Schiappa.  She was an Aunt to Joey, Courtney, Jamie, Jenny, Kenzie, Hailey and Brock, and Godmother to Reagan. 

No one will ever know a more courageous, driven, organized and dedicated follower of the Lord, wife, family member, friend, member of her community or colleague.  She was passionate about her Lord, her family and going on vacation to Emerald Isle every year. 

She will probably be most remembered for her ambition and work in improving anything she was passionate about instead of standing by and watching or wishing something would change for the better. She was the president of the Cheshunt Homeowners Association and more recently Pool Director.  The community named the annual volunteer award after Gerri in recognition of her tremendous service and dedication.  She has only been known to this community for a short time, however she made an incredible impact. 
Gerri was a great wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, daughter, and friend. She was truly loved and will be missed deeply.  Very rarely does a loss such as this echo beyond the family as it does in this case.  One of Gerri’s greatest attributes was her selflessness. If she knew that she could help someone in need she didn’t ask any questions or think about any sacrifices that she had to make.  She simply acted, any action to help.  Trust me, any resistance was futile.  It is hard to know how many lives that she touched, and in some cases may have saved. 
She was the kind of person that would, and did on many occasions, lend a room in her house to let someone recuperate and get back on their feet after a complication that life threw at them.  Sometimes she simply would lend a kind ear and listen.  She played the role of the world’s grief counselor, baby sitter, dog sitter, purveyor of a cup of sugar or whatever was required in anyone’s time of need. 
Gerri’s capacity to help was only diminished due to her time on earth, cut short by cancer.  We are all proud to have been able to know her and spend what time we had with her.  As the old adage goes: “If I only had 5 more minutes.” Unfortunately, we would have wished for a lifetime of more minutes.  Not just for our family, but most of all for her grandson Alex.  Alex is the youngest, and as such didn’t have enough time to really understand how great his grandmother was, let alone secure enough time for all of her many great qualities to have been fully nurtured within him.
Even with a lifetime of more minutes, how do you tell someone that doesn’t see themselves as heroic that they have been the hero of many?  These acts of kindness were so ingrained within her being she simply saw them as a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
Gerri was truly great.  Not only will you be missed deeply by all your family and loved ones, but also by everyone who ever needed a helping hand and was just too late to have met you.
A memorial and celebration gathering to honor her life will be held at Crossway Community Church [6400 Prosperity Church Rd, Charlotte, NC 28269] on June 9, 2018 from 4:30pm-6:30pm. The family requests to bring a dish to share for the reception if you are able. Her wish was for all attendees to bring a good memory, fun story or important moment to share either with the group or privately in remembrance. 

While realizing the sadness of this time, her wish was also to make the occasion as comforting and uplifting for the sake of the group as possible. Throughout her battle, she showed little fear, admitted no pain and was accepting and confident in her faith.  She openly believed her last days would lead to a greater understanding of love and faith in God and heaven. 

A reception will follow the service.  An additional celebration is also being planned for a yet undetermined date in Macedonia, Ohio this July 2018.  For more information please contact via email Kelly Loya at kloya01@gmail.com . 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks a donation to be made to a nonprofit cancer research organization of your choice on Gerri’s behalf. 

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