Bobby Gersten, once the oldest living former UNC athlete, died the morning of Friday, Oct.18 at 99 years old.
Gersten played baseball and was captain of the basketball team for the Tar Heels. In 1942 he was awarded the Patterson Medal, the top athletic honor awarded at UNC.
After graduating from North Carolina in 1942, Gersten served for three years in the Air Force during World War II.
In 2015 Gersten co-founded UNC Walk for Health with William Thorpe, who was known for dressing as a Union soldier and standing on McCorkle Place in a mission to educate the community.
Walk for Health is an organization that encourages people to engage in daily exercise and recreational activities in order to combat chronic illness. Gersten was known for playing tennis every day, even into his nineties.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel on Friday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.
