Who is Gerard Balakian from Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir and what is their importance?

Gerard Balakian is the father of Peter. As a doctor, Gerard is a good man, who values his family and their comfort and happiness over most things. He cares deeply for his son, and wants only the best for him, which can lead to problems between the two as Peter grows older. However, Gerard is also a man who stands slightly away from the world. Peter does not know his father closely, but does realize he too, like his sisters, is more comfortable in high culture than the Aroosians. He and his father bonded over football, but their relationship was always more formal than Peter's relations with his mother. His father remembers little of the genocide or his family's escape, but does remember small pieces of life in Collonges.