GILLES, Wilfred Jacob 1916-1999

GILLES, BURGETT, SEIBERT

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 4/17/2010 at 12:58:25

Wilfred Jacob Gilles

STACYVILLE, IOWA - Wilfred Jacob Gilles, 82, of Waterloo, formerly of Stacyville, died Tuesday (Jan. 26, 1999) at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Iowa City.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Visitation Catholic Church with the Rev. Joseph Schneider officiating. Burial will be in Visitation Church Cemetery with military rites conducted by the Stacyville American Legion Post 569.

Visitation will begin at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Visitation Catholic Church Hall, with a rosary at 3 p.m. and a wake service at 7:30 p.m. Champion Funeral Home, Osage, is in charge of arrangements.

Wilfred Jacob Gilles was born May 5, 1916, at New Haven, the son of Roy and Theresa (Seibert) Gilles. He attended Visitation Academy and Visitation High School in Stacyville, graduating in 1935.

He became a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938. In September 1940, he joined the National Guard, and in February 1941, was put on active duty. In 1942, Wilfred was sent to the European Theater of Operations. He saw active duty in Ireland, England, Italy, France and North Africa. He served as a cook and security guard and was honorably discharged in June 1945.

Wilfred and his twin brother, Wilmer Gilles, went into partnership operating Gilles Billiards in Garner. During his lifetime, Wilfred held positions as a chef in Clear Lake and Waterloo. In 1974, he became a security guard at the John Deere Plant in Waterloo, and he also worked for the Air National Guard at the Waterloo Airport.

Wilfred married Chrystal Burgett June 16, 1963, and they made their home in Cedar Falls. Chrystal died in June 1976.

He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waterloo, and a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters.

Survivors include three brothers, Reuben Gilles and his wife, Ardella, of Austin, Minn., Dan Gilles and his wife, Gloria, of Adams, Minn., and Paul Gilles and his wife, Gertrude, of Waterloo; four sisters, Marian Johnson of Austin, Theresa Langenfeld and her husband, Greg, of Dunlap, Elizabeth Hemann, of Stacyville, and Adeline Krebsbach and her husband, Marvin, of Stacyville; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Theresa Gilles; his stepmother, Anna Gilles; his twin brother, Wilmer; and a brother, Vernon Gilles.

Mason City Globe Gazette, Jan. 28, 1999