ADRIAN J. "AJ" GERKEN

SCHUMACHER, GERKEN, TEMPLE, COAKLEY, MCCOY, LARSON

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 6/27/2003 at 20:19:01

Adrian J. Gerken

Telegraph Herald - Saturday, May 17, 2003

Adrian J. "AJ" Gerken, 78, of Naperville, Ill., formerly of Dubuque, died Thursday, May 15, 2003, at home.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Ss. Peter and Paul Church, Naperville, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, Naperville.

He was born on July 24, 1924, in Dubuque, son of Ewald and Anna (Schumacher) Gerken. He moved to Naperville in 1965.

Mr. Gerken worked at O'Toole Office Supply Co. in Dubuque, where he attended Loras College. He retired from 3M Company in 1986, and taught basket weaving at the Naperville Park District, The Past Basket in Geneva, Ill., and at The Fine Line in St. Charles, Ill.

He served in the Marine Corps during World War II and in the Navy during the Korean War.

Surviving are his wife of 54 years, Joan (Nemmers) Gerken, of Naperville; three sons, Kurt (Kay) Gerken, of Batavia, Ill., Nick (Jolene) Gerken, of Sarasota, Fla., and John (Jean) Gerken, of Naperville; five granddaughters, Michelle, Julie, Katlyn, Sarah and Carolyn; three brothers, William (Donna) Gerken, of Farley, Iowa, Daniel (Joyce) Gerken, of Waterloo, Iowa, and Ewald Gerken, of Cascade, Iowa; two sisters, Dolores Gerken, of Farley, and Mary Temple, of Tulsa, Okla.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ewald and Anna (Schumacher) Gerken; and five siblings, Donald Gerken, Loras Gerken, Louise Coakley, Theresa McCoy and Joan Larson.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Ss. Peter and Paul School Teachers Endowment Fund, 36 N. Ellsworth St., Naperville, Ill. 60540.