Alphonse J. and Helen E. (Lais) Gerken

Alphonse Gerken

Alphonse Jacob Gerken was born on April 9, 1893, son of Henry and Anna (Winter) Gerken, at New Vienna, Iowa. Alphonse was the seventh of nine children. His brothers and sisters were Louis, Mary Anna, George, Hubert "Hub," Wilhelmina "Minnie," Irma, Ewald, and Zita.

Alphonse grew up in New Vienna, Iowa, and was educated at the parochial school there. In 1912 he was working for Mescher Brothers in the store at New Vienna. Alphonse served in the U.S. Army during World War I.

Marriage to Helen Lais.
Alphonse, also known as A.J., married Helena Elizabeth Lais on January 20, 1920, presumably at St. Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian, Minnesota, to where Alphonse had migrated, as did some of his brothers and sisters, and where Helen was living.

Helen Lais was born on October 19, 1895, at St. Killian, in Nobles County, Minnesota, daughter of Herman August and Helena Maria (Moser) Lais. Her father Herman was an immigrant from Germany, and her mother Helen, whose first husband, Phillip Speeter, had died, was originally from Wisconsin. Helen was the youngest of seven children born to Herman and Helen Lais; her siblings were Felix Conrad Lais, Emil Raymond Lais, Marcus Edward Lais, Gregor Peter Lais, Henry Lewis Lais, and Joseph Leo Lais. She also had two older half-brothers from her mother's first marriage: Frank Speeter and George Speeter.

Richard, Victoria, and the twins Wilfred and Willis

Helen Lais worked at Bratsberg-Entwistle Mercantile, until she left her job to help her parents, Herman and Helen Lais, raise Reece, Walter, and Johanna Speeter, her nephews and niece. Their parents, George and Hannah Speeter, both died in November 1918 of the flu epidemic, just three days and six days after Johannah's birth in November 1918. Herman and Helen Lais had gone by train to pick up the children at Forbes, North Dakota, to bring them back to Adrian, Minnesota. After Herman and then Helen Lais died, Johannah Speeter, age 15, loaded up her wagon with her things and went to live at her aunt Helen's, which was just across the street. Helen by that time was married to Alphonse Gerken, and they were raising their own four children: twins Willis and Wilfred, Richard, and Victoria.

Alphonse and Helen Gerken lived out their lives at Adrian, Minnesota, where they were members of St. Adrian Catholic Church. A.J. was a carpenter by trade, and was in business with his brother Hubert "Hub" Gerken under the firm name of Gerken Brothers, Carpenters and Builders.

Alphonse Gerken dies.
Alphonse J. Gerken, 74, died on December 28, 1967. Funeral services were held at St. Adrian Catholic Church on December 30, with burial in the church cemetery. Alphonse was the last child of Henry and Anna Gerken to die, just months after his sister Minnie passed away.

Helen (Lais) Gerken dies.
Helena E. (Lais) Gerken, 97, died on November 17, 1992, at Adrian, Minnesota, and she was buried in St. Adrian Catholic Cemetery at Adrian.

The twins Willis and Wilfred

Alphonse with the twins Wilfred and Willis

Children of Alphonse and Helen (Lais) Gerken:

Sources. I received some of the information here from Helen (Lais) Gerken during a visit to Adrian, Minnesota, in 1978 when I went with my uncle Ewald Gerken and family on a trip to Minnesota to visit Aunt Helen and other relatives. Aunt Helen had a little book in which she recorded birthdays, etc., of relations, and I was able to use that not only to gather information about her and Alphonse's family but also other Gerken relations, too. Thanks to Sherrie Grindy for providing additional details about Aunt Helen and the image of the babes Willis and Wilfred; Sherrie's grandfather was Helen's brother. Also thanks to Linda (Majerus) Muir for sharing the story about her mother, Johannah (Speeter) Majerus. Also included here are photographs from the collection of Ewald Gerken, my grandfather and Alphonse's brother.     T.L.

© 2002-2009 Tom Larson P.O. Box 141 Peosta, IA 52068-0141 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/gerken/henry/alphonse/ Last revised February 14, 2009.