Thomas F. Gehret, 74, of Philadelphia, retired city municipal court judge, popular local political leader, longtime attorney, and community advocate, died Sunday, Aug. 27, of respiratory failure at Lankenau Hospital.
“He always knew what he wanted to do,” said his wife, Terez Giuliana, “and that was to be of service to the community. He valued justice and redemption.” He was, his family said in aAway from the courtroom, Judge Gehret contributed countless dollars and hours of assistance to the Helping Hand Rescue Mission on North Sixth Street, various food banks around the region, and other community outreach projects.
He met Giuliana online in 2001, and they married in 2008, and lived in Roxborough. They exchanged wedding vows in his courtroom on June 21 and were profiled in The Inquirer’stwo months later. “I always told him, even if we never married, I would stay with him because this is the best relationship of my life,” she told The Inquirer then.