Gerald David Strid, Age 80, made a peaceful transition into heaven on Saturday, May 27, 2023. He was surrounded by his soulmate of 55 years, 5 children and their spouses, and 14 grandkids.

Known as "Zeke" to those who loved him, he was born on May 3, 1943, the youngest son of the late Herbert Strid and Evelyn Denis Strid. Zeke grew up in Torrington, Connecticut, with his brothers, Charlie and Denis. He attended St. Francis School and Torrington High School prior to receiving a scholarship to play football at Worcester Academy. After high school, Zeke went on to play football at Villanova University where he studied Finance and met many of his lifelong friends. Upon graduation from Villanova, he moved to Ohio where he worked for Continental Can, before moving back to the Main Line. This is where he met Krissy, the love of his life, and as the story goes, they were married 100 days after their first date. Over the next six years they had 5 children. Zeke started his 45+ year career in the financial business in 1970, working for multiple brokerage firms before landing at Merrill Lynch. While at Merrill, Zeke developed a program to help people plan for their kid's college education and formed one of the first father-son advisor teams with his oldest son, Erik. In 2003, Zeke's youngest son, Paul, joined the team and Strid Wealth Management was formed, eventually leading them to create Concentus Wealth Advisors. Zeke was always known to be a giver to those less fortunate. With 2 of his sons now on the team, he was able focus more on working with the homeless of Philadelphia through Project H.O.M.E. and in 2007, he was recognized as the Main Line Times Man of the Year. In his view, the Lord had been very good to his family and he felt the need to do something in return. Zeke described the homeless as being 'the people who fell through the safety net and landed face-first on the concrete grate' and recognized and admired them as the 'toughest, most resilient people in the world and to ignore people in dire need is a denial of basic humanity – ours as well as theirs – and is something our civilization cannot allow'. That same year, he also received the St. Thomas of Villanova Medal, the highest award from the Villanova University Alumni Association. In 2008, he received the Heart of Siloam Award for his work. A man of true character, he was humble and thrived on doing the right thing without fanfare. Zeke lived his life with passion, faith, compassion, and humor, and was the ultimate hugger. No matter who you were, he was never afraid to embrace you, whether he knew you for 40 years or 40 minutes. It is impossible to quantify how much he will be missed by the living world, but the hereafter has been given an incredible gift.

He is survived by his wife Kristin Strid (nee Flick), his children Erik Strid (Karen), Stephanie Davis (Erick), Kristin Dische (Jeff), Peter Strid (Trish), and Paul Strid (Ruth), as well as 14 grandchildren (Carter, Max, Emma, Heidi, Astrid, Beckett, Evelyn, Pablo, Pilar, Luca, Daniela, Lucia, Manuel, and Mateo).

Relatives and friends are invited on Friday June 2nd Visitation from 9:00 – 10:45 AM followed by his Funeral Mass, PROMPTLY, at 11:00 AM at St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the University Campus, 800 Lancaster Ave., Villanova PA. Interment will be private for the family at a later date.

For those unable to attend the service, the Funeral Mass will be livestreamed at:

https://vums-web.villanova.edu/Mediasite/Play/917e3c9bb7ba460ca90304a42ef37ce91d

In lieu of flowers, he would be most appreciative of you giving someone a hug. Once you do that, contributions in Zeke's name may be made to Project HOME, Dev. Dept. 1515 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia PA 19130.