So where do the "Gerber" name come from?

Gerber (Gärber, Garber, Garver)

Gerber is a Mennonite family name which originated near Langnau, canton of  Bern, Switzerland. The name denotes the occupation of tanner, and there are two  very old tanning establishments in Langnau. The Langnau Gerber family is one of  the most numerous in the canton of Bern. Members of the Gerber family who were  Mennonites left the Emmental for the Jura as early as the middle of the 16th  century.Wälti Gerber of Röthenbach was one of the earliest and most prominent  Anabaptist ministers in the Emmental, taking part in the disputation in Bern in  March 1538. He preached fearlessly, although forbidden to do so by the state,  and baptized many. He was imprisoned at Burgdorf, escaped, but was captured and  executed in Bern on 30 July 1566.

Our Gerber line can be traced back to:

The Gerber's are from Alsace an area between Germany and France, 

From the 13th century to the French Revolution, the history of Alsace was  linked to the fate of the lordship in the area to which it belonged.  Archeological diggings proved that the place was already inhabited as early as  the Neolithic age, but it was in a donation records written in 737 at the  Wissembourg Abbey that the name of the area was cited for the first time.  During the 18th century, the area was used as a refuge by many protestant  refugees. Between 1670 and 1673, several trials for witchcraft sent a dozen of  inhabitants of the lordship to the stake. Alsace was incorporated into France  in 1793. About 200 A.D., some Roman road ran through the area and it ensured  some economic importance at that time. The name was given to a region  that was built from territories that were the former county of Nassau- Saarwerden, the manor of La Petite Pierre (Lützelstein) and the manors of  Diemeringen and of Asswiller. This region was separated from the surrounding  territories of the catholic duchy of Lorraine by the Vosges forest. Between  1525 and 1697, the dukes of Lorraine contended with the counts of Nassau about  the ownership of their county. The lutheran Reformation worked its way in 1557  and, as soon as 1559, the county of Nassau-Saarwerden was used as a place of  refuge by huguenots who were expelled for religious reasons from the french  territory or from Lorraine. The region remained peaceful and flourishing until  the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). In 1629, the catholic lorrainers occupied the  county and the protestant ministers were expelled. Starvation, diseases and  other damages of war made many families of the area run away. Between 1649 and  1670, the county was occupied by the lorrainers, and the lutheran religion was  forbidden. From 1671 to 1697, France annexed the territory of the county. In  1698, the county was returned to the counts of Nassau-Saarwerden and the  lutheran religion became the official religion again. Until its annexation by  France in 1793, the county remained a German protestant lordship. Until 1766,  Bockenheim (Bouquenom) and Saarwerden constituted in the middle of the county  an enclave that was owned since 1629 by the duke of Lorraine.

So now that we know where we come from lets see where it is going to, Marius  Gerber was living in South Africa, and wanted to make a big move in his  life when he asked his newly wed wife Tracey-Lynn if she would like to move to  Canada.  The paper work started in 1997 and after a 3 year wait and a lot of  money the news came in Feb 2000. "It is a go". Marius then a Lt Col in the  South African Army as SO1 Training Admin and R&D gave his resignation with a  affective date in Jun 2000. Maj Tracey Gerber then the Manager of the Social  Work Department at the Institute of Maritime medicine gave her resignation too. We  left South Africa by plane and flew via Hong Kong to Vancouver, BC, Canada.  Tracey immediately got a job as a Family resource coordinator with the Canadian  forces. I started working for a 3600 seat call-centre in Chilliwack BC as the  Training Manager.  After about 3 years Tracey and I felt that we need to move  closer to the ocean, we missed it.  So in 2003 we moved East and are currently  living in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Tracey currently hold the position of  Director of Primary health care at the Yarmouth Hospital and I'm the Bank Manager for  CIBC in town.  We love our work and house and feel Yarmouth is a nice place to raise 2  boys. So for now this is what we call "Home"