Geraldine (Geri) Erb was born on May 9
th
, 1934 in Cleveland, Ohio and passed away on April 27
th
, 2023 in Chandler, Arizona. After high school, Geri attended art school and worked as a hat model. In 1954, she married Carl Venberg, a pilot in the US Air Force. Together, they had four beautiful daughters, Beth, Mary, Patti, and Diane. As a military family, they moved more than 2 dozen times and lived in the Azores, Spain, Ohio, Kansas, California, New Mexico, and Texas.
After Carl retired from the service, the Venberg family settled in Chandler, Arizona. The couple eventually divorced, and Geri started a decades long career at Broadway department store (now Macy’s) in the gift-wrapping department. Her eye for design and creativity was a huge asset for the company. Geri went on to fall in love and marry twice more, to the late Clayton Erb and the late Robert Price.
Geri loved all animals and put that love into action by volunteering within the animal welfare community for many years. She fostered cats and underage kittens, worked at low cost spay/neuter clinics, helped with fund raising events, and fielded calls when folks made inquiries at the humane shelter. At the age of 83, Geri set out for Washington State to co-found Flower Feline Sanctuary with Diane. She lived in her own home at the sanctuary for 5 years before returning to Chandler. Geri’s family and many friends admired her commitment to animals and adored her for her kindness, gentleness, and generous spirit.
Geri is survived by Mary, Patti, Diane, three granddaughters and two grandsons, and five great grandchildren. Her own cats remain in WA at Flower Feline Sanctuary.
If you would like to honor Geri’s legacy of helping animals in need, please consider making a donation to the following nonprofits:
Homeless Animal Rescue Team (AZ)
https://hart-az.org
Perfect Endings Feline Rescue (AZ)
https://purrfectendings.com/financially-foster/
Help abandoned dogs and cats impacted by the war in Ukraine though ROLDA (International)
https://rolda.org/breaking-news-ukraine/