On Friday, November 25, Gerhard König joined his beloved wife, Lorraine, in death, following a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was in the company of his two sons, Karsten and Sterling, and his daughter in-law, Gwendolyn Gorse König, at the time of his passing.Gerhard was born on January 28, 1940, in Lemgo, Germany, to Hans and Sophie König. As a child, he endured the hardships of World War II and its aftermath but was determined to succeed in life. Through hard work, he received his MBA from Siegen University in Germany, then decided to pursue the "American Dream" and arrived by boat in New York City in 1965. He completed a year of postgraduate work at the University of Cincinnati and joined Corning Incorporated in 1966.Gerhard called Keuka Lake his home and was a resident of the area for more than 40 years, his professional career also took him and his family to Durham, NC; Denver, CO; Shrewsbury, MA; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and several cities in Germany including Kaiserslautern and Munich. He enjoyed a long and fulfilling career with Corning, serving in many capacities including Regional CEO, Director, and President and CEO of several Corning business subsidiaries. Among his many professional achievements, one that he was most proud of was conceiving Corning's entry into the stationary pollution control business and then negotiating the establishment of Cormetech Inc., a 50/50 joint equity company with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, in Durham, NC. Despite retiring from Corning in 2002, Gerhard was never one to sit idle for long-he soon went back to work and served as President of Draka Comteq EMEA, a Dutch cable manufacturer for several years.Gerhard met his wife, Lorraine Kae Loomis, while working at Corning, Inc., and the two were married on August 27, 1983. Together, they raised Karsten and Sterling and provided a home to several families of cats and a beloved Yorkshire terrier named Katie. In his later life, Gerhard enjoyed travelling and hosting his friends and family at his home in Hammondsport for dinner and lively political discussions over a glass of wine. He was also a die-hard fan of FC Bayern München and Duke Basketball. He is remembered fondly by his sons, Sterling and Karsten, as well as Karsten's wife, Gwendolyn; Lorraine's mother, Evelyn, and her sister, Jane Ayers, and her husband, Jerry; his brother Hans-Dieter König, and his wife, Waltraud; and his nephews and their wives, Jochen and Ina, Peter and Claudia, and Claus-Dieter and Jeanette, and their daughter, Veronica.All are welcome to join Gerhard's family in celebrating his life at St. Gabriel's Church in Hammondsport, NY, on December 10. Calling hours will begin at 10am, with the service at 11am. The celebration will continue after the service with a small reception.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Katie's Fund at the Finger Lakes SPCA (72 Cameron Street, Bath, NY 14801 or http://www.fingerlakesspca.org/; please designate "Katie's Fund"). The Fund was established by Gerhard and Lorraine in 2015 to help give otherwise-unadoptable animals the medical care they need in order to find loving homes. Condolences may be made at www.fagansfuneralhome.com.