The spirit of Gerry Habershaw was present Saturday as more than 150 Pilgrim students lined the walk in front of St. Kevin Church and another 300 family and friends attended his Mass of Christian burial.

Everyone had a Gerry story. He was a man who left an impression, which didn’t go unnoticed in the eulogy offered by his brother, Robert or the funeral homily of Deacon Brian Callahan.

An English teacher at Pilgrim where Gerry was principal, Callahan opened by listing attributes including being a defender and protector, loving and courageous and a worker. He went on to reveal to the amusement of those present he was speaking about Saint Joseph, not Gerry.

“Now most would say that St. Joseph and Gerry Habershaw did not have that much in common. On the contrary, they are more alike than we may realize,” Callahan said. He said St. Joseph “was a man of quiet humility.”

On the other hand, Gerry’s voice “constantly shook hallways and gymnasiums and golf courses.

“What mattered,” Callahan said, “wasn’t Gerry’s booming voice which stayed with you long after his final words ended. It was the private moments, the simple pieces of advice, the hugs and the high fives, that made a tremendous difference for all of us.”

On taking the lectern Gerry’s brother said delivering a eulogy for Gerry, “is the hardest thing I will ever do … he was supposed to do this for me.”

“Gerry was a great father, a great man, a great husband … but most of all he was a great brother.”

Robert described events growing up together, the good times, the epic wrestling bouts and most of all how Gerry “was a great friend … my best friend.”

A graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School where he was an outstanding athlete on the football field, basketball court and baseball field, Gerry furthered his education at Providence College where he earned bachelors and master degrees in education.

He started his career in education at Pilgrim as a special education teacher and then moving on to Aldrich Junior High School as assistant principal before being named principal at Veterans Memorial High School.

He was at the helm during high school consolidation when Veterans transitioned into a middle school and Vets students went to either Toll Gate or Pilgrim. Gerry was named principal at Pilgrim.

Robert described his brother as a strong principal who demanded and brought out the best of students. He said Gerry believed in making kids accountable, yet treating them like family.

“I don’t need to spend time here recalling all of the good Gerry did for family and friends and for colleagues and students. Just look on social media and you will find tribute after tribute after tribute. And that is wonderful. Gerry’s human legacy will stretch far into time,” said Callahan.

Soon after his death an effort was mounted to rename Pilgrim for Gerry. While that now seems remote there is strong support for naming a corridor for him. Without question there will be something at Pilgrim in memory of Gerry.

Gerry, 57, died of Covid-19 related complications, according to statements his brother David made in a Channel 10 interview. His death came in the wake of Pilgrim’s homecoming dance where students, adults and Gerry didn’t wear masks. A week following the dance 70 of more than 300 students and faculty tested positive for the virus.

A visitation held Friday at Thomas & Walter Quinn Funeral Home saw lines weaving through the building with waits of more than two hours. In anticipation of so many people, the burial Mass was live-streamed.

In closing his eulogy, Robert said, “it’s very simple why Gerry isn’t here, it’s because God called him. He did his job.”