Michael E. Gellert

Jun 15, 1931 -

Aug 17, 2021

Michael E. Gellert, 90, of New York, N.Y., died on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, peacefully at home. He was born on June 15, 1931, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to Oswald Gellert and Greta (Petschek) Gellert. After immigrating to the United States, he graduated from Harvard College, served in the U.S. Army and received his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His business career began at Burnham and Company and he remained a partner of successor Drexel Burnham Lambert for over four decades. He founded Windcrest Partners in 1967 as a private investment vehicle.

Michael Gellert's many years involvement in Alaska began with a trip up the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks in 1954, where he had a summer job on a potato farm. In the early 1960s, he was a member of a group that purchased Anchorage Sand and Gravel Company and helped to guide it through decades of significant growth as Chairman of the Board of Directors. He also participated in several ventures in Anchorage area land development. He loved to hike in Alaska with his family and longtime friends and business associates Lew Dickinson and the Herb Lang family.

Through his career he served on the boards of Humana, Devon Energy, Seacor Holdings, Six Flags, Regal Cinemas and many other companies.

He was a dedicated philanthropist whose board involvements included the Carnegie Institution for Science, Human Rights Watch, the New School for Social Research and several others. He participated actively in alumni affairs at Harvard University from which he was awarded the Harvard Medal in 2015. In 2000, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; he was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He will forever be remembered for his intellect, wit, generosity and ever-present smile. His commitment to a just and humane world at peace will continue to inspire us.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary Crombie Gellert of New York, N.Y.; son and daughter-in-law, John and Samantha (Topping) of Park City, Utah and their children Michael, Alexandra and Felix; daughter, Catherine "Kate" of New York, N.Y. He is also survived by his siblings, Martin F. of Washington, D.C., Hubert J. of Anchorage and Catherine G. Ross of New York; and his Anchorage nephews and nieces, Glenn Gellert, Tracy Dunn, Victoria Gellert and Midori Shaw, now residing in Middleton, Wis.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Democracy Seminar at the New School for Social Research.