BROAD, GERALD H. 

An early morning presence on the Del Mar beach has died. "Ger" Broad, longtime Del Mar resident, passed away May 19, 2015 after a long battle with heart disease. Born February 6, 1935 in Des Moines, IA, he graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Civil Engineering in 1957. He then served two years as Company Commander with the US Army Corp of Engineers, first coming to California to be stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco. He worked briefly for Douglas Aircraft before joining General Dynamics in 1961. He stayed with General Dynamics until 1993, advancing to Principle Senior Design Specialist and becoming Key Engineer for Atlas-Centaur airborne and ground support structural systems for all series of launch vehicles. He was involved in over 200 launches. He was also an artist, filling his house with paintings and people's mail boxes with hand drawn post-cards. He walked on the beach daily.  He is survived by close friends and family. Services are set for 2 p.m. June 13th, in the chapel of Solana Beach Presbyterian Church (120 Stevens Ave. Solana Beach, CA 92705) with a reception afterwards at the Fletcher Cove Community Center in Solana Beach. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association. (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Giving/Giving_UCM_001137_SubHomePage.jsp)