Deora Grace Gehrke

Deora G. Gehrke, age 94, Willow Lake, the widow of Emil Gehrke, died peacefully in the Bryant Parkview Care Center late Thursday night, August 7, 2014. Visitation will be held on Monday, August 11, 2014 from 5-7 PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and after 9AM on Tuesday at the Church. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 10:30 AM in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church at Willow Lake with The Reverend Mark Guthmiller officiating. The organist will be Aris Schmidt with congregational singing. Casketbearers will be Dan Gehrke, James, John & David Redlin, Aaron Orris and Devin Hallstrom. Burial will follow in the Collins Cemetery at Willow Lake. She was born Deora Grace Dirksen on July 14, 1920 in Kingsbury County, near Bancroft, SD, the daughter of Harm and Katharine (Petersen) Dirksen. Deora attended school at Bancroft and graduated in 1938. She then attended Northern Normal in Aberdeen and obtained her teaching certificate after which she taught country school in Rosedale Township west of Willow Lake. On July 10, 1944 she was united in marriage to Emil Gehrke of Willow Lake. They lived their entire life together and raised their children in Collins Township, farming the land that had been the family home for 70 years. Emil died on February 23, 1978. She was a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church at Willow Lake where she also taught Sunday School. In her free time she enjoyed reading, playing cards, Scrabble, looming rugs, appreciating life and everything it had to offer. Deora enjoyed 15 winters in Niland, CA at the Fountain of Youth Spa. Over the years she also spent countless hours as a volunteer. Preceding her in death were her parents, husband, brothers, Clifford, Eldon and an infant brother and sons-in-law, Jim Tierney and Mike Freeman. Grateful for having shared in her life are her children, Anita Tierney of Niland, CA, Mary Freeman, Helen (John) Olson all of Clark and John (Jeanie Poline) Gehrke of Willow Lake. Also surviving are 11 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and a sister, Rosella Beninga of Grundy Center, IA and a sister-in-law, Ivanell Dirksen of Carson City, NV. The Furness Funeral Home of Clark is serving the family where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com