Richard C. Gerding, Jr., a high school hockey star who from his playing days to the workplace fostered relationships that endured, died Sept. 1 at University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital. He was 65.

He suffered an apparent heart attack while golfing Aug. 31 at Heather Downs Country Club, said his son, Ricky Gerding.

Mr. Gerding was a 45-year employee of Fiske Brothers Refining Co. in East Toledo. He started as a laborer, became a union steward, and advanced to quality control laboratory supervisor.

“He really wanted to be the best at everything he could, starting with hockey,” his son said.

He credited his job satisfaction in large part to coworkers.

“The work culture was great,” the younger Mr. Gerding said. “He made a lot of friends there, and the company itself was very nice to him. He enjoyed it all around.”

Born Nov. 23, 1956, to Patricia and Richard Gerding, he grew up in South Toledo. A fan of the Detroit Red Wings and the team’s legendary mainstay, Gordie Howe, he played youth hockey in Ottawa Park. He played left wing on Bowsher High School’s team, contributing to multiple league championships. He also was a perennial member of the Northwestern Ohio High School Hockey League’s all-star team.

“He enjoyed it and was a hard worker, watching the Red Wings growing up and studying the game and seeing the types of moves he could do to get better, faster,” the younger Mr. Gerding said.

He led the league in scoring his senior year.

“He had a natural talent for it,” said Bill Liberty, who said Mr. Gerding “was my best friend of 52 years. We had a mutual connection on just about everything.”

Mr. Liberty said his friend helped him get on the team. And from their years in hockey camp and on the team, “we knew where each other were on the ice without looking. We clicked as a unit,” Mr. Liberty said. 

He played junior and semi-professional hockey for a time after his Bowsher graduation. Into his 30s, he joined Mr. Liberty in an annual tournament, playing stateside and in Finland.

He and high school friends had an annual get-together for a quarter century, “almost a big camping trip on one of the friends’ properties and hanging out, bonfires at night,” the younger Mr. Gerding said. “He would do anything for his friends, and they would do the same for him. They all kept in touch.

“He was a straight shooter and would tell you what was on his mind,” his son said. “He was extremely friendly and could light up a room by making a joke. He loved to be the life of the party for all the right reasons.”

Mr. Gerding, who started playing drums in childhood, was captivated by the rock ’n’ roll music he grew up and performed with Toledo-area bands through the years — sometimes as a regular, sometimes sitting in. Mr. Liberty recalled that they both admired drummer Tommy Aldridge from the first time they saw him on television playing with Black Oak Arkansas. 

“He saw the bright side of everything,” Mr. Liberty said. “We shared so much: music, hockey, we golfed a lot together. He was like my brother.”

He was formerly married to Beverly Collum.

Surviving are his fiancee, Leslie Bialecki; son, Richard C. Gerding III; mother, Patricia Gerding; sister, Sherri Haupricht, and a grandson.

Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Walker Funeral Home, Sylvania Township, where a sharing-of-memories service will begin at 7 p.m.

The family suggests tributes to the American Heart Association.

First Published September 10, 2022, 4:00 a.m.