Herbert R. "Dick" Gerst 1916 - 2007

GERST, KNAPP, MEHAFFY, SCHROCK, BENDER, BROWN, KNOTTS

Posted By: deb (email)
Date: 12/23/2007 at 15:28:30

The Burlington Hawkeye, Sunday, December 23, 2007

Herbert Gerst
Herbert R. "Dick" Gerst, 91, of Mediapolis, died at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007, at Great River Hospice House in West Burlington.

Born Jan. 20, 1916, in Oakville, he was the son of Julius and Sarah Knapp Gerst. On June 12, 1937, he married Cleo Mehaffy in Burlington.

Mr. Gerst farmed in rural Sperry from 1946 through 1965. He worked at various locations in Iowa and several surrounding states in the mechanical contracting field as a senior engineer and construction manager until his retirement at age 70. He was a 1934 graduate of Huron High School. He was a member of Oakville Apostolic Christian Church. He enjoyed the outdoors, gardening and fishing.

Survivors include his wife; three sons, Dick Gerst of Mediapolis, Randy Gerst of Sperry and Jim Gerst of Toulon, Ill.; three daughters, Sally Schrock of Mediapolis, Connie Bender of Salisbury, N.C., and Annette Brown of Brentwood, Tenn.; 18 grandchildren; great- and great-great-grandchildren; one brother, Ernest Gerst of Burlington; and one sister, Edna Knotts of Mediapolis.

He was preceded in death by one son, five brothers and three sisters.

The funeral for Mr. Gerst will be today at 1 p.m. in Oakville Apostolic Christian Church with the church ministers officiating. Burial will be in Oakville Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery.

A memorial has been established for Morton Handicapped Home in Morton, Ill.