Raymond Charles Gensley, 06 Sep 1931 - 05 Feb 2022

GENSLEY, SHEDA, MICHALEK, HUEDEPOHL, FAAS, WEST, SIEBERG, GORSH, HAWKIS, BADER, KING, DENICOURT, BIRDZELL, GRAFF, REYNOLDS, WEISSKOPF, JONES, BAZYN-NOYES

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 2/17/2022 at 13:37:03

Raymond Charles Gensley, 90, of Victor, died on February 5, 2022, at his home, after a courageous battle with cancer.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 9th, at St. Bridget Catholic Church in Victor with Fr. Scott Lamaster officiating. Organist will be Verabeth Bricker and soloist will be Sandra Thomas. Pallbearers are Steve Huedepohl, Larry Sieberg, Tim Gorsh, Kevin Hawkins, Nimer Bader, and David King. Honorary bearers are Carolyn Gensley, Linda Gensley, and Kristine Denicourt. Burial with military honors, performed by members of the Victor American Legion Harold E. Smith Post #54, will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Victor.

A Rosary will be said at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 8th, at St. Bridget Catholic Church followed by a visitation with the Gensley family present until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evening at St. Bridget.

The funeral mass will be live-stremed on the Smith Funeral Home Facebook page: Smith Funeral Home and Crematory.

Memorial contributions may be designated to the Victor American Legion, Victor Fire Department, Essence of Life Hospice in Amana, or St. Bridget Catholic Church.

Ray was born on September 6, 1931, in Victor Iowa to Raymond Chester and Blanche (Sheda) Gensley. He grew up in Victor graduating from St. John’s Catholic High School in Victor. He joined the United States Air Force in 1952 as a 1st Class Airman and was honorable discharged in February of 1957.

On August 21, 1954, he was united in marriage to the love of his life, Beverly “Jean” Michalek in Victor. The couple lived in Duluth, MN and Davenport, IA, settling in Victor to raise their 10 children just down the street from where he was born and raised.

Ray worked several jobs starting with mowing lawns in his youth. He worked a short time at Bendix Aviation in Davenport. Back in Victor he worked at Orrin Fetzer’s Oil Company, later taking over the gas station “Ray’s DX”, which he ran for about 10 years. He became an independent truck driver and later a branch manager for Leaseway Transportation, retiring from Victor Manufacturing in 1992. He was also a bus driver for HLV Community Schools for several years.

Ray enjoyed camping, traveling, dancing, bicycling, family get togethers and attending his grandchildren’s activities. He was a member of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church in Victor. He also enjoyed volunteering at the VA Hospital in Iowa City for 16 years (total of 5,281 hours). He was previous Fire Chief with the Victor Fire Department where he volunteered for about 10 years and was a previous Legion Commander for the Victor American Legion Harold E. Smith Post 54, participating in Memorial Day services, parades, military funerals and more. Ray’s military service, the American Legion and volunteering at the VA were very important to him.

Ray is survived by his children: Amy (Steve) Huedepohl, Victor; Angie Faas (Bill West) Dekalb, IL; Chris (Larry) Sieberg, North Mankato, MN; Sue (Tim) Gorsh, Victor; Maria (Kevin) Hawkins, Ladora; Chuck (Carolyn) Gensley, Millersburg; Juanita (Nimer) Bader, Iowa City; Paul (Linda) Gensley, Victor; Janet (David) King, Guernsey; Jodi Gensley (Kristine Denicourt), Silver Spring, MD; 24 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren with one on the way; sister-in-laws Barb Gensley, Donna Birdzell, Mary Graff, Kay (Bruce) Reynolds.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean, of 52 years; his parents; grandson, Jason Lee Weisskopf; great-grandson, Colton William Jones; brother, Larry Gensley; and a sister, Shirley Bazyn-Noyes.

The family would like to thank the staff at Essence of Life Hospice in Amana for their excellent care throughout his final weeks.

Published in The Hometown Current on February 16, 2022, an abbreviated version was published in The Gazette on February 8, 2022.