By then, Gearon Sr. had been associated with the Hawks – as general manager, president, board chairman or part-owner – for almost 40 years. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren when he died. “Our father spent his last few days on earth in his home pain free, sleeping peacefully,” Michael Gearon Jr. wrote. “As the tears rolled from everyone’s eyes, I could not stop thinking about what a gift God had given us. Dad spent the majority of his 87 years worrying and caring about everyone else and was the most unselfish, giving, caring person I knew.