George W. Gearhart, Sr.
Bill Gearhart grew up in a railroad family that included his father, two brothers, and four uncles. This background, plus a pleasant but reserved demeanor, combined with his ability to analyze and quickly resolve difficult situations, made him an early candidate for a role in railroad management.
He graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in 1939 where his scholastic activities included being on the newspaper staff and in Hy-Y. Entering Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the fall of 1939, he received a B.S. degree in civil engineering in 1943.
After college, Bill was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and spent the next several years in the Pacific theater, first, with the 880th Airborne Engineers in New Guinea and later with the 1945th Engineers in the Philippines campaign. When the war ended he was discharged with the rank of captain only to be recalled to duty in the Korean Conflict to serve as assistant post engineer at the Columbus General Depot.
Bill’s career with the Norfolk and Western Railway Company began in the summer of his second year at Tech when he was employed as a laborer at the Material yard in Roanoke. After the war, he returned to the railroad as a maintenance inspector. In 1947, he was promoted to assistant roadmaster on the Radford Division and, in 1949, to assistant supervisor of buildings and bridges on the Shenandoah Division. This was disrupted by a return to the army during the Korean Conflict but, by 1952, he was back at N&W and promoted to roadmaster, first, on the Pocahontas Division and then on the Radford Division. In 1956, he was named assistant trainmaster on the same division and later, at Norfolk. In 1962, he rose to assistant superintendent at Norfolk, and in 1966, received a major promotion to superintendent, Norfolk, Terminal Division. He returned to Roanoke in 1967 as assistant general manger of the Atlantic Region, and in 1968, was promoted to general manager of safety, a position he held until retirement in 1982.
As head of safety of N&W, Bill had the honor of accepting for his company the E. H. Harriman Bronze Award for the third best safety record among Class I railroads in 1969. He also served as Chairman, Safety Section, Association of American Railroads from 1973-75 and as a member of the executive committee, Railroad Section, National Safety Council 1968-1982. In the Commonwealth, he served on the Virginia Safety Council from 1968-1984.
Bill is a member of the Rotary Club of Roanoke and has served as visitation chairman for the Mended Hearts of Roanoke Valley. He is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Roanoke and is a member of the Committee on Ministry of the Presbytery of the Peaks. In 1989, he was named Roanoke’s “Father of the Year for Religious Activities.” Bill is married to Isabella Brickey Gearhart and they have three children: G. William, Jr., James Douglas, and Helen Gearhart Green.
In further recognition of his outstanding career achievement, George William, Gearhart, Sr., was among charter members inducted into the Salem Alumni Hall of Fame established by the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association in 1996.
