Glenard Gail Gerdes' Obituary
Our family mourns the passing of a great man. Glenard Gail Gerdes, one of six children born to Dewey and Annie Marie Gunther Gerdes, was born on April 28, 1924, in St. Francis, Kansas. He passed away on June 10, 2015, in Tualatin, Oregon, at the age of 91. The Gerdes family lived on a farm outside of Benkelman, Nebraska, where everyone worked hard since this was during the Great Depression. It was in 1941 that the family moved to Seattle, Washington, to be closer to relatives, as well as giving the kids a change of scenery and better opportunities. As Glen described, with six kids and two adults in their car, the trip out west "was, indeed, a memorable and crowded journey."
With the onset of World War II, Glen was selected for Air Force Cadet training. Two months prior to D-Day on June 6, 1944, he was transferred to the Army, where he landed at Omaha Beach. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to a Military Police company, where they followed the tanks throughout France, Germany, Austria, and the Central Europe campaigns. Glen was discharged from the Army in December of 1945.
Glen attended the University of Washington, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Business in 1950. He was also qualified as an Interstate Commerce Practitioner. During his career, Glen worked at several large trucking companies in marketing, traffic and logistics. He also had his realtor's license.
Glen met his future wife and love of his life, Betty Jean Griggs, while in college. He always said that she had the "prettiest smile that he had ever seen." They were married in August of 1949, and were blessed with four children: Alyson, Alan, Paul and Teresa, and five grandchildren: Jeff, Carly, Shawna, Jimmy and Teresa, as well as great-grandchild, Jack.
The family was raised in Walnut Creek, California, until Glen's job transfer to Portland in 1965. Lake Oswego was now home, where the family flourished. Besides his family, Glen had many interests, including gardening, walking, growing his beautiful roses and dahlias, singing, travel and the Portland Trail Blazers. We also can't forget his American Eskimo dog, Zonker, who was always by his side.
A private memorial was held on Wednesday, June 17, with military honors, at Willamette National Cemetery, where dad is now buried with his beautiful Betty Jean.
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