Richard Harold Gerst

GERST, RICH, FRANK, ULRICH, OOMS, SWISHER

Posted By: Judy Kelley (email)
Date: 3/9/2009 at 20:11:56

Richard Harold ‘Rich’ Gerst, age 94, of Wapello, went home to be with the Lord at 8:33 AM Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at the Wapello Nursing & Rehab Center.

His funeral will be at 10:30 AM on Friday, August 1, 2008, at the Apostolic Christian Church of Oakville with the ministers of the church officiating. Burial will follow at the Oakville Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery.

Friends may call from noon to 8:00 PM on Thursday at the Dudgeon-McCulley Funeral Home at Wapello where the family will meet friends from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. A Memorial Fund has been established for the benefits of the Oakville Apostolic Christian Church Building Fund and the Apostolic Home for the Handicapped at Morton, Illinois.

Rich was born on August 4, 1913 at Oakville, the son of Henry and Barbara Rich Gerst. He graduated from Huron High School in 1931 and became a member of the Apostolic Christian Church at Oakville where he taught Sunday School and served as a Trustee, both for several years.

He was a farmer. He also served in the US Army during WW II in the European Theatre and returned home on December 24, 1945. On January 13, 1946, he married Liberty Frank at Burlington.

Rich is survived by his wife, ‘Lib’; four sons, Steven & Bonnie Gerst of Congerville, Illinois, Wallace & Donna Gerst of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jeffrey & Kari Gerst of Wapello, and Kevin & Selena Gerst of Wapello; ten grandchildren, Tiffany Gerst, Trista Ulrich, Tadd Gerst, Sarah Ooms, Jacob Gerst, Jonathan Gerst, Stephanie Gerst, Joshua Gerst, Minda Swisher, and Collin Gerst; and five great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a great granddaughter, Alayna Gerst; four brothers, Ezra, Leslie, Henry, and Chris Gerst; and two sisters, Bertha Wagenbach and Emma Gerst.

Rich’s purpose in life was to glorify God, both in life and in death. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalm 116:15

Source: Dudgeon-McCulley Funeral Home