LuAnn Gerlach was born on October 26, 1945, at Nissen Hospital in Osage, Iowa, the daughter of Gene W. and Norma L. (Rosel) Gerlach, of St. Ansgar, Iowa. LuAnn was baptized in December, 1945 by the Rev. Milton Northdurft, and was confirmed at the Methodist church in St. Ansgar in
May, 1959, by the Rev. M. Pearson.
Her grandparents were George Henry Ernest Rosel and Anna (Runge) Rosel, on her mother's side; and Frank Gerlach and Emma (Priem) Gerlach, on her father's side. Emma was born August 1, 1874; Frank was also born in 1874, but died in 1927. George Rosel was born April 6, 1885 at St. Ansgar, Iowa. Anna Runge was born January 13, 1890, and died in February 1970. She had one brother, Gary G. Gerlach, who later moved to Washington, D.C., and had gone on to be a lawyer and president of a printing company. LuAnn idolized her brother, and talked about him a great deal, and was very proud of him. Apparently she also found him to be a tough act to follow, and sometimes felt pretty inadequate when she compared herself to him.
She had been active in 4-H club work for several years, and had served
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| In 2nd Grade |
LuAnn was always friendly to everyone she met; she was truly a very special young woman who was compassionate, caring, loving, fun and was a great dancer -- gifted with many talents, and at the same time she was very humble. LuAnn’s mother, Norma, who died December 19, 1988, was a very gracious lady. No wonder LuAnn was like she was -- having such an excellent example. Norma was born on December 22, 1913.
Following her graduation from St. Ansgar high school she enrolled at the
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| VOCAL ACCOMPANISTS LuAnn Gerlach, Mardell Trettin, Charlotte Borchert |
Her compassion was very obvious when she talked about the people for whom she provided care in her nurses’ training. It is said that sometimes she literally hurt for them.
She never talked about her accomplishments and was very selective about those with whom she shared things. It was obvious to many people that she had strong leadership skills -- apparent in her various involvements, especially in what she did for her sorority and at the Univerity of Iowa. "She played the piano, but never said anything about that talents,"
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| As Cheerleader in 1963 |
A bit of trivia is that she liked rum and Coke. The rumor was that LuAnn and a girl friend of her's drank rum and Coke together as sophomores in high school; and that continued to be her drink of choice in college.
In the summer of 1965 LuAnn went to work for the summer in Yellowstone National Park, following a trip to New York City. But, in July she was riding a bicycle in the park and got run off the road by a car, hit a tree, and severely broke her collar bone. A few months later she was diagnosed with a rare and incurable blood cancer -- a type of leukemia. Her father, Gene, was convinced that it was the X-rays taken after
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| At a Dance - 1963 -- Dancing with Russ Bell (Click photo for larger image) |
LuAnn Gerlach was only 20 years old when she died of the disease -- on December 9, 1965 in Iowa City. Her's was only the seventh such case of this disease in medical history.
The funeral services were held on a Saturday afternoon, December 11, 1965 at the St. Ansgar Methodist Church. She was laid to rest in the St. Ansgar city cemetery. A memorial service was also held at the First Methodist church in Iowa City.
Ironically, LuAnn was “Miss October” on Phi Kappa Sigma's 1965 fraternity calendar -- the very month of her 20th birthday, and the month she was diagnosed with leukemia.
To honor and perpetuate her memory, her parents and brother have established the LuAnn Gerlach Memorial Nursing Fellowship, an annual $250 grant to be awarded by her brother Gary Gerlach, under the direction of the college of nursing at the university, to benefit a deserving undergraduate student at the college.
