James Gear Obituary

GEAR JAMES LOWELL GEAR James Lowell Gear, 86, of Stephens City, Virginia, died Sunday, December 7, 2008, in a local nursing facility. Mr. Gear was born in 1922, in Mill Creek, West Virginia, the son of the late Reverend Arthur S. and Bessie Gear. He was the retired Director of Preservation and Restoration at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., serving for over thirty years. He was later a realtor with Sampson Realty. Mr. Gear was a member of First Christian Church in Winchester, and formerly a member of First Christian Church in Falls Church, where he served as trustee. He was a member of National Association of Retired Federal Employees. Mr. Gear was a graduate of Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, receiving a BS in Chemistry. His wife, Betty Jean Nine Gear, whom he married on May 29, 1943, in Elkins, West Virginia, preceded him in death on March 25, 2008. Surviving are his daughters, Cheryl G. Brown of Crofton, Maryland, Kimberly G. Root of Winchester, Virginia; one son Terrence L. Gear of Cedar Bluff, Alabama; eleven grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; two sisters, Vada Powers of Richmond, Virginia and Rosalie Pool of Concord, Virginia; and one brother, Paul Gear of Lynchburg, Virginia. His sister, Laura Mae Perry, and three brothers, Arthur S. “Sonny” Gear, Jr., Marion Gear and Herbert Gear preceded him in death. A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, at Saint Barnabas‘ Episcopal Church, 4801 Ravensworth Road, Annandale, Virginia, with Reverend Joan Rainsberger officiating. Friends may visit at the Church from 10 to 11 a.m. prior to the service. Interment will be in Fairfax Memorial Cemetery in Fairfax, Virginia. Pallbearers will be Danny Gear, Brendon Brown, Jonathan Brown, Ryan Root, Gerard Root and Benjamin Brown. The family will receive friends on Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Omps Funeral Home, Amherst Chapel. Obituary and online guestbook at www.ompsfuneralhome.com

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Published by The Washington Post from Dec. 10 to Dec. 11, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for James Gear

5 Entries

Philip C. Brooks, Jr.

December 14, 2008

Jim was a professional colleague and very close friend of both my father, Philip C. Brooks, Sr., and myself during our respective years at the National Archives.

My father worked closely with Jim in a host of preservation activities as head of the old diplomatic records division. When the Charters of Freedom were encapsulated at the Bureau of Standards and then installed for the first time in the "Charters of Freedom" exhibit in the Archives Rotunda, my father was the archivist in charge and Jim was the preservation officer in charge. The Declaration and Constitution were transferred from the Library of Congress to the National Archives via the Bureau of Standards. The Bill of Rights was already at the Archives, so for safety in anonymity, Jim and my father took the Bill of Rights from the Archives to the Bureau of Standards in our car, then picked it up again from the Bureau of Standards when the preservation work was done. Both gentlemen dined out on the story of driving around Washington with the Bill of Rights for the rest of their lives!

I worked closely with Jim on a number of activities when I was Assistant to the Executive Director and then when I went to the Office of Public Programs as the administrative officer. For several years we had adjoining offices, and we often lunched together. We became great friends. I always appreciated and understood what Jim was doing professionally, not only as a member of the National Archives staff but also because I had been involved in conservation and preservation activities at the Smithsonian's Museum of History and Technology, where I worked before coming to the Archives.

Jim was truly a giant in the field of conservation and preservation of records. His career was long and honorable, his recognition was international, and his achievements were legion.

Jim was a great gentleman and a dear friend, and my wife and I miss Jim and Betty greatly.

Chandru Shahani

December 11, 2008

As Preservation Director, Jim Gear was my immediate supervisor at the National Archives. Jim, along with William K. Wilson, another dear friend and colleague who passed away recently, was personally responsible for kindling my interest in archival preservation. Indeed, I owe my career as a library and archive preservation scientist to Jim. He had extensive hands-on knowledge which he shared gladly, and on his retirement I was the proud recipient of his extensive literature collection. All through his career at the National Archives, Jim strived to advance the state of the art within the Preservation Directorate. Jim was not only a scholar, but also a thorough gentleman and a great friend. He always maintained a gentlemanly equanimity amid even the most trying circumstances. The first Christmas card (more a letter) that Kiran and I have received for the past 30 years or so was invariably from our dear friends Jim and Betty. We enjoyed their warm hospitality on many an evening and cherish those memories. We shall miss them both and always remember them most fondly.

Mary O'Dell

December 11, 2008

I always enjoyed both Betty and Jim at the NARFE luncheon meetings. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Catherine Nicholson

December 10, 2008

James Gear was the longtime Director of Preservation Services in 1979 when I first met him at the National Archives as a summer conservation intern. He had an office on the floor of the National Archives building known as Mahogany Row, for its long sequence of tall solid mahogany doors, and his window looked out on the impressive Corinthian columns that face Pennsylvania Avenue. A few years later when I became a NARA employee and worked there as a conservator, he had retired after a more than 30 year career at the Archives. Over time as I learned more about the treasures held at the National Archives, his involvement in projects involving in some key treasures came out. He was involved in some of the important work to monitor and install the Charters of Freedom in the Rotunda of the National Archives in the 1950’s, early in his government career. In 1976 he was involved in a significant effort to have prints made from a remarkable copperplate of the Declaration of Independence, etched by William Stone in 1823, at the National Archives in the records of the State Department. He escorted the copperplate to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, accompanied by a photographer, and stood by as a master engraver cleaned the wax coating on the surface of the copperplate so that a limited edition of six prints could be printed for the Bicentennial. In retirement he remained a great source of information about preservation history and he generously shared information that was invaluable. He said that he was working on a memoir of his career and I know that a number of colleagues would be intrigued to read the recollections of his long and interesting career. His colleagues will miss him and the opportunity to take advantage of his important insights and institutional memories.

Joyce Thompson

December 10, 2008

What a wonderful life he lived. To see 86 years, I can remember my father living to be 87 ( died just this past July), and the joys he experienced to see the family live on. Take comfort in God's Word, the Bible to sustain you during this time. He cares and will help you throught this. 1 Peter 5:7. Family and friends will be there to support you. Rely on God, who cares too. James 4:8

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