Louis P. and Christina M. (Lange) Gerken

Louis Peter Gerken was born on June 21, 1880, at New Vienna, Iowa, son of Henry and Anna (Winter) Gerken. Louis was the oldest of nine children; his brothers and sisters were Mary Anna, George, Hubert "Hub," Wilhelmina "Minnie," Irma, Alphonse, Ewald, and Zita.

Louis grew up in New Vienna and was educated at the parochial school there. He followed the trade of his father Henry and became a carpenter. Louis was elected assessor of New Vienna in 1904, 1905, and 1906.

Marriage to Christina Lange.
Louis Gerken married Christina M. Lange at New Vienna, Iowa. Christina Lange, who was called "Tina," was born on March 4, 1883, at New Vienna, Iowa, daughter of Andrew and Magdalena (Kruse) Lange.

About 1919, the Gerkens moved to Templeton, Iowa, in western Iowa, to where many other German American Catholics were branching out from New Vienna. Louis practiced his trade of carpentry all of the time that he lived at Templeton. Louis and Tina were members of Sacred Heart Church in Templeton, and Louis was a member of the Holy Name Society of the parish. Always very active in the Knights of Columbus work, Louis served as grand knight of the local council for several terms, and he organized and directed the local Knights of Columbus band.

Picture postcard of Tina and Louis P. Gerken and their children--
(left to right): Flora Mae, Marie, Edwin, Julius, and Ermin--
at their home in Templeton, Iowa.

Louis P. Gerken dies.
Louis P. Gerken, 59, who had lived in Templeton, Iowa, for twenty years, died at his home there at 5 a.m., Tuesday, July 18, 1939. The direct cause of his death was a stroke which he had suffered on Monday, after being in ill health for a long time. He had been confined to bed the greater part of the previous eight months.

Funeral services were held at 9:00 o'clock Friday morning, July 21, at Sacred Heart Church, Templeton, with Monsignor F.H. Huseman officiating at the Solemn Requiem High Mass. Rev. Bernard Montag of Ute, Iowa, and Rev. Nicholas Becker acted as deacon and subdeacon, respectively. Rev. Clarence Schoeppner of Santa Fe, New Mexico, offered a Requiem Mass at the Side Altar as representative of Archbishop Rudolph A. Gerken of Santa Fe, cousin of the late

Active pall bearers were Raymond Waslager, John Berger, Albert Seyller, Leo Kuhl, Raymond Bock, and Ed Bruggeman. Former Grand Knights of the local Knights of Columbus acted as honorary pall bearers.

Mr. Gerken was laid to rest in the church cemetery at Templeton.

Surviving with his wife Christina were eight children, Edwin Gerken of Omaha, Nebraska; Ermin Gerken and Julius Gerken of Richmond, Indiana; Marie Gerken of Omaha; and Flora, Elmer, James, and Edgar Gerken, at home. He also leaves two grandchildren.

The following out of town relatives attended the funeral services: Mr. and Mrs. George Gerken, Cincinnati, Ohio; Mr. Hubert Gerken and daughters Virginia Mae and Marjorie Rose of Adrian, Minnesota; Mr. and Mrs. Peter Winter, Edward Winter and Viola Winter of Worthington, Minnesota; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Schumacher and son Erwin of Dubuque, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Alphonse Gerken of Adrian, Minnesota; Mr. and Mrs. Ewald Gerken of Dubuque, Iowa; Mrs. Frank Steger and son Arthur of Dyersville, Iowa; Dr. and Mrs. F.X. Lange of Dubuque, Iowa; Mrs. Leonilla Lake of Guttenberg, Iowa; Sister M. Anselma and Sister M. Fridolin of St. Anthony's Hospital, Carroll, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Kerkhoff and son of Petersburg, Iowa; Mrs. Ben Mormann of Petersburg, Iowa; Mrs. Tegeler of Dyersville, Iowa; Father Clarence Schoeppner of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mr. Ludwig Gerken of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Mrs. Hilda Carlson of Adrian, Minnesota; Mr. Matt Ohlinger and Donald of Omaha, Nebraska; Mr. John Neuberger of Omaha; Miss Alma Hanson of Omaha; Mrs. F. Laux and son Fred of Omaha; Leo B. McDonald of Omaha; Miss Genevieve Artz of Omaha; Mr. Frank Gerken of Arcadia; Mr. Matt Friedmann of Halbur, Iowa; and Mrs. Matt Wagner of Halbur, Iowa.

Louis Gerken died on July 18, 1939, at Templeton, where he was buried. Christina (Lange) Gerken died at the age of 95 years on March 8, 1978, at Denver, Colorado, and she was buried at Templeton, Iowa.

Mrs. Louis Gerken Returns From European Tour.
Circa 1956 Mrs. Louis Gerken traveled to Europe, and the following article appeared in the Dyersville Commercial after her return:

Mrs. Louis Gerken returned last week Thursday from a four weeks conducted tour in Europe. They left via Chicago by plane for New York, where they boarded another plane and landed in Paris, France.

In Paris, they visited many places of interest. After remaining there three days, they took a train for Zurich, Switzerland, riding along the Rhine River and they saw the Black Forest.

After a day in Switzerland, they went to Florence, Italy, where they took a trip through the Swiss Alps, etc., and after seeing places of interest there for a couple days, they left for Rome. Of course there were many wonderful things to see in Rome, but Mrs. Gerken said the highlight of the trip was the group's semi-private audience with the Holy Father. Like many, in fact all, who have ever had that special privilege, Mrs. Gerken was greatly impressed by his kind gracious manner. She said the audience lasted just 10 minutes.

Leaving Rome, they went to Nice, France, then on to Lourdes and after a day there, visiting the throne, and taking part in the great procesino, they went back to Paris.

They boarded their plane in Paris, coming back to this country via Ireland and Newfoundland. On her arrival in this country she visited her son at Omaha, Nebraska, a couple of days before returning to Dyersville.

Christina "Tina" M. Gerken dies.
Christina "Tina" M. Gerken, 95, died on March 8, 1978, at Denver, Colorado. She was buried beside her husband at Templeton, Iowa.

Grave of Louis and Christina Gerken at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Templeton, Iowa.

Children of Louis P. and Christina "Tina" M. (Lange) Gerken:

Click here for additional pictures of the Gerken family
sent by Ron Gerken, a grandson of Louis P. Gerken.

Sources include a copy of Louis P. Gerken's obituary sent to me by his grandson Ron Gerken, an article from the Dyersville, Iowa, Commercial telling of Mrs. Louis Gerken's trip to Europe, and obituaries that appeared online for Edwin Gerken from the Omaha World Herald and Elmer Gerken from the Denver Rocky Mountain News. Other sources include a history of New Vienna, Iowa, and its parish, Dubuque County Courthouse records, a book kept by Helen Gerken, a sister-in-law to Louis, in which she recorded the dates of various family events, and an online social security death index. Ron Gerken sent the image of the Gerken family at their home in Templeton, Iowa, and the grave photograph was from a brief stop my wife Deb and I made at Templeton in 1997. The image of Louis P. Gerken's memorial card came from one received by my grandparents Ewald (Louis's brother) and Anna Gerken, and the image of Christina Gerken's memorial card came from one received by my mother Joan E. (Gerken) Larson, whom I remember always referred to her as "Aunt Tina."     T.L.

© 2001-09 Tom Larson P.O. Box 141 Peosta, IA 52068-0141 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/gerken/henry/louis/ Last revised February 18, 2009.