ESSEX - Elizabeth Gertsch, 42, of Essex Massachusetts, passed on November 23, 2014. Born in Beverly, Elizabeth grew up in Essex and attended Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School (class of 1990) before going on to Emerson College (class of 1994), where she received a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing. Later, she studied art history in the University of Massachusetts-Amherst graduate program. She lived in the North End of Boston for 15 years and worked as a project manager at companies in Boston and Cambridge before relocating to western Massachusetts. For the past several years she had been living in Framingham. In her free time, she enjoyed modern art, reading, movies, writing, spending time with her dog Ethan, walks in nature, new-age thought, progressive politics, and traveling.
She is survived by her parents, Emil A. and Karin M. (Hurley) Gertsch of Essex; brother Peter H. Gertsch of Essex; sister-in-law Diana K. (Ventura) Gertsch of Essex; grandfather Thomas J. Hurley of Manchester-by-the-Sea; uncle Donald J. Hurley of Manchester-by-the-Sea; aunts Marianne A. (Gertsch) Niemi of Michigan and Lizabeth A. (Heeren) Williams of Oregon; cousins John W. Niemi of Michigan; Jess R. Hurley of Gloucester; Nolan T. Hurley of Vermont; and Benjamin R. Hurley of Beverly; and a wide circle of cherished friends.
Funeral services will be private. Interment will be at Rosedale Cemetery, Manchester-by-the-Sea. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Elizabeth’s memory to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, c/o Derrick Lee, Reback Lee & Company, Inc., 12400 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1275, Los Angeles, CA 90025.