Generoso "Gerry" J. Gil Jr.,
editorial writer and opinion editor of the Manila Standard, died
yesterday of severe lung and heart infection at the Medical City in Mandaluyong.
He was 54.
Gerry's death, described
by the Standard management and staff as "like a bolt from the blue," was
totally unexpected because he had no known heart condition and smoked sparingly.
Last Monday, he excused himself from work, complaining to Zip Roxas, Standard
executive editor, that he felt like he was "coming down with the flu."
He is survived by his father,
Generoso Sr., mother Avelina, brothers Fernando [Danny] and Carlos, and
nephews and nieces. Although he was born in Murcia, Negros Occidental,
he traced his roots to the Juan clan of Laoag, Ilocos Norte.
Gerry held a doctorate in
Communication Research from Stanford University. He was an English
major from the University of the Philippines, where he was a university
and college scholar of the Phi Kappa Phi International Honor Society.
Before he joined the Standard in April 1989, he worked briefly with
the Times Journal, as consultant to the editor-in-chief. He
also had stints as information director of the Population Center Foundation,
as managing editor of Data for Decision, a publication of the Press
Foundation of Asia, research director of the Philippines Herald
with rank of associate editor, program specialist of the Asia Foundation,
and reporter, magazine editor, and deskman of the defunct Evening News.
Gerry also was a professional lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University,
the UP College of Mass Communication, and the Asian Institute of Journalism.
He was treasurer of the Philippine Press Institute at the time of his death.
Funeral plans are being
finalized.