By Alice Huth-Derrah
Hank Geerling became St. Elizabeth Seton’s (SES) new full-time Parish Manager this past April. Efficient, patient, and attentive are words that came to mind during my interview with Hank because of the way he answered my questions and spoke about his job at the parish. He said that the favorite part about his position is “the people I work with…they are good people.”
Born and raised in Florissant, Missouri, a suburb located within the Greater St. Louis area, Hank was the second oldest in a large Catholic family of nine children. He describes his parents as being “deeply religious” and was greatly inspired by the “way they treated each other.” He says, “they didn’t expect perfection” and told Hank and his siblings to “try the best you can, and you’ll be okay.” His grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Holland in 1920, was also a huge influence for Hank because he had “high expectations…was a good listener and when he said something, it meant something.”
Hank attended Catholic schools in Florissant, namely St. Ferdinand Elementary and St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and liked that he “grew up around priests, bishops and cardinals.” The priests could be found “on the playground” and were always visible around school. Upon receiving a soccer scholarship, Hank went to Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis. But after one semester, Hank questioned whether college was a suitable fit for him and he turned to his grandfather for advice. They discussed the idea of Hank going into business to obtain hands-on experience and, as his grandfather viewed it, Hank would be “four years ahead of the people in college.”
So, at the age of 19 Hank left Florissant and moved to Quincy, Illinois and began cultivating the knowledge and skills necessary for obtaining the real-life experience that he and his grandfather had talked about.
He started out by unloading trucks for Skaggs Drugstore and eventually found his way to Walmart, where he held a variety of positions including Manager, Director, Inventory Control, and District Manager. Although being helpful for his success in business, these various positions which Hank accepted to further his career often required frequent travel for him and moves for his family. However, he says he received “excellent training” through the company which, combined with his “real world skills,” led him to obtaining a four-year degree. He applies his years of acquired skills to his current position at SES, describing his administration style as “management by walking around and talking to people…to find out what is needed…and teach something every time I talk with someone.”
After years of “moving around” because of his job, Hank retired in 2007. He and his wife Pat, who were high school sweethearts, have been married 53 years. They have resided in Arizona for the past 26 years and are blessed with two sons and one daughter as well as 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Two of their children live in Arizona while their oldest son still resides in St. Louis. Hank took up golf after retirement until it became too much “wear and tear on my body.” He also became very involved in restoring old cars, at one time keeping up to five at his house. “That lasted a while,” Hank says smiling, “until Pat said she wanted a place for her [own] car.” He still owns a 1998 white convertible Corvette and has shown it at the Seton Classic Trifecta car shows. Hank says of his faith “It has grown over time” and, ironically, it was due to the many positions and moves he made to gain business experience that he “learned to trust in God and in prayer that things would work out.”
