Gerald Friedrich Maas, 21 Sep 1927 - 02 Apr 2021

MAAS, WOLTER, BROCKSCHINK, CARRINGTON, NEWBOLD, FRIEDL, HEITSHUSEN

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 4/8/2021 at 09:33:36

Gerald Friedrich Maas the son of Diedrich and Flora (Wolter) Maas, was born September 21, 1927 in rural Homestead. He attended St. John Lutheran School and Marengo High School. Gerald was united in marriage to Darlene Eunice Brockschink on August 15, 1954 at St. John Lutheran Church, Homestead.

Gerald could visit with anyone because he had an insatiable curiosity. He liked to tell stories. The one about accidentally running over his brother's foot with the wagon. When Carl yelled, 'You ran over my foot!' he backed up and accidentally ran over it again. The one about the time he was getting ready to show his 4H calf. Grooming his calf next to a girl who was grooming her perfectly coiffed calf, when his calf shot diarrhea all over her and her calf. 'She wasn't very happy,' he confessed. The one about the time he was trying to get the runaway cows out of the corn field. The neighbors stopped to help. The corn was 8 feet tall. The sun was setting. He heard the rustle of corn leaves. 'The cow's over here,' he shouted, only to be told by the neighbor, 'That's not a cow, that's my mother.

He was drafted toward the end of World War 2. He felt bad that his dad, in poor health, had to do the farm work alone when his brother was in school. They wrote letters back and forth every day. He wrote about cooking eggs for 200 soldiers every morning. His mother wrote about mailing a dozen eggs to her sister in Wisconsin. They made it all the way to Chicago before they got scrambled. He was honorably discharged from the Army and went back to work on the farm. He loved when the wooden silo was full, sealing the door on each level with mud, because then the cousins were allowed to drive to the Indiana Sand Dunes, visit Uncle Carl, and watch the girls go by. When he got the second draft notice, he thought it was a joke, and almost threw it away. He was sent to Korea. Many times he had to go across enemy lines to find food to cook for the soldiers.

He met Darlene at a skating rink when she asked him to skate. They were married for 61 years and worked side by side. When she worked as a realtor, she had to occasionally work in the office alone on Saturdays. One Saturday, a man came in and said he was there to buy a house for Satan. Trying not to show her trembling hands, she said, 'I have just the right one, let me call the owner and see if we can look at it right now.' When Gerald answered the phone, he knew something was wrong because their house wasn't for sale. He grabbed his hammer and drove over to her rescue. The potential buyer was gone by then.

His life was one of service. He provided housing and employment for a Vietnamese refugee family. He was instrumental in building the Lutheran Interparish School in Williamsburg, Our Savior's Lutheran church in Keosauqua, and the Iowa District East office building in Cedar Rapids.
When asked what kind of flowers he wanted on his casket, he said, 'Just some dandelions.' He was never pretentious, didn't want to be a bother. Gerald passed away on Friday, April 2, 2021 at Colonial Manor in Amana at the age of 93.

He is survived by his children, Barb Maas of Frankfort, KY, Marilyn Maas of Chicago, Dean (Cheryl) Carrington of Coralville and Sharon (Chuck) Newbold of Williamsburg; 4 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Darlene, two sisters, Edith Friedl and Flora Heitshusen and a brother Carl Maas.

Celebration of Life Graveside will be 11:00 am on Monday, April 5, 2021 at Cedar Memorial Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until service time at the cemetery. A memorial fund has been established for St. Paul Lutheran Church or Lutheran Interparish School all in Williamsburg.

Powell Funeral Home in Williamsburg is caring for arrangements. Messages and tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhomes.com.

Published in The Gazette on April 5, 2021 and in The Hometown Current on April 7, 2021.