Floyd Raymond Gerken 1892-1951

GERKEN, HUNDLEY, KRANTZ

Posted By: Dorothy Gosse (email)
Date: 4/16/2011 at 19:05:57

Floyd Raymond Gerken, oldest
son of Mary Jane Hundley and
Nelson Alvin Gerken, was born
June 1, 1892, on" a farm in Antelope
county, seven miles southwest
of Plainview, Neb.
When he was a year old, his parents
moved to the Henry Gerken
homestead.in Oran Township near
Oelwein. Except for three, years,
1904-1907, in Oelwein and some
time as a youth spent working in
Minnesota, his entire life has been
spent on the home farm known as
Gerken Hereford farms.
In boyhood he attended Oelwein
school and Sunday school
and Crabapple rural school. At
fourteen; he assumed the responsibility
of helping his father, who
had been an accident victim, with
farming. In 1916 he and his brothers
became interested in registered
Hereford breeding. He continued
in this line of work and
was a member of Mid-Iowa Hereford
Breeders association, Iowa
association and the National Hereford
association.
In 1936 he became interested in
the introduction of hybrid seed
corn and was salesman for the
DeKalb company until 1948.
In 1941 he recovered from an
illness of tetanus and other complications.
In 1950 he had major
surgery and was in fair health.
After five months of failing
health, he died Aug. 14, 1951, at
the home of a brother in Oelwein.
He was preceded in death by a
brother, Glen Alvin, in 1918, his
father in Sept. 1932, and his
mother in December, 1942, and a
niece, Gladys Gerken, in 1931.
Survivors include two brothers,
Dr. Roy Victor Gerken, Scarsdale,
N. Y., and Leslie Clare Gerken of
Oelwein; three nieces, Mrs. Herman
Krantz of Chicago, formerly
Dorothea Gerken, Mary Edna
Gerken of Oelwein, and Helen
Virginia Gerken of Scarsdale, N.Y.;
two nephews, Donald Alvin
Gerken, Genoa; Ill., and Harry
Roy Gerken, Cedar Rapids, la.
Services were held at the. Presbyterian
church, Oelwein, Aug.
16, at 3 p. m., with the Rev. L. W.
Hauter conducting. Burial was in
the family lot at Woodlawn cemetery.
Mrs. C. B. Hintz and Mrs. J.
A. Courtright sang, accompanied
by Mrs. L. E. Hilsabeck. The following
served as casket bearers:
Ira Jipson, Joe Lorber, Ora Fox,
Henry Brickman, Helmuth Westendorf
and Robert Brickman.

Oelwein Daily Register - 20 Aug 1951