Nicholas Carl Gerolamo

Dr. Nicholas Carl Gerolamo passed away peacefully on Monday, July 5, 2021 in Camarillo, CA.  He was 82 years old.

Nicholas was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 20, 1939 to Calogero (Carl) DiGerolamo and Mary Francesca (Benedetto) DiGerolamo.  The youngest of three children, he had an older brother and an older sister, Francis (Frank) DiGerolamo and Bess (DiGerolamo) Mangiameli.

Having moved to Los Angeles at a young age, Nicholas attended Mount Carmel High School where he was part of the graduating class of 1957.   After high school, he earned a BA in psychology from UCLA, where he later attained his master’s degree in linguistics.  There Nicholas studied under the eminent linguist William Bright.  An accomplished linguist, Nicholas was proficient in 6 languages, and earned a National Science Foundation Scholarship during his MA studies. His post-graduate studies also included a PhD in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.  He worked as a clinical psychologist for 42 years until he retired in 2017.  An avid reader and lover of knowledge, Dr. Gerolamo dedicated his life to the study of language and to helping others.

Truly a modern renaissance man, Nicholas loved studying languages and experiencing other cultures.  During the 1960's he spent extended periods of time traveling through Mexico and through North and West Africa.  He enjoyed food and cooking, a passion he passed on to his children, and he held a deep appreciation for music; jazz, blues, classical, and opera.  Nicholas also enjoyed watching college sports and baseball; he loved the L.A. Dodgers, and revered the New York Yankees. 

Nicholas is survived by the love of his life, his wife of 42 years, Margaret Kirgis Gerolamo; their three children and their spouses, Alicia Gerolamo Bettencourt and John Bettencourt, Gabriel Gerolamo and Yahui Tsai, Matthew Gerolamo and Scott Johnson; his five grandchildren, Anthony Gerolamo, Nicholas Bettencourt, Ethan Gerolamo, Ella Bettencourt, and Leonardo Gerolamo; and by his four-legged friends, Linus and Chaucer.

A service in Nicholas' memory will be planned at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Nicholas' name to the Endangered Languages Fund (ELF) at Yale University, Amnesty International, and the Alzheimer's Association.