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Martin F. Gerken, age 95, of Wauseon, passed away Saturday, February 27, 2016 at his home surrounded by family. Prior to his retirement, he had worked for the Ohio Turnpike Commission in their maintenance department.
Martin was born on January 15, 1921, near Florida, Ohio, to the late Frank and Katherine (Damman) Gerken. He was a member of the Emmaus Lutheran Church in Wauseon, the First Baptist Church in Wauseon, the DAV in Napoleon, the Wauseon American Legion, the Wauseon VFW and the Fulton County Senior Center. He was a United States Army veteran of WWII, having served in the European Theater, and was a Prisioner of War.
Surviving family members include his wife, Beverly Patton-Gerken; a son, Douglas Martin (Barbara) Gerken; daughter-in-law Lisa Gerken-Blair; grandchildren, Jeremy (Andrea) Gerken, Felicia (Chad) Stuckey, Mandi Harris, Kerri (Mike) Clark; and great-grandchildren, Devon, Dustin, Aaron, Rosston, Riley, Ashton, Elivia and Olivia and great-great-granddaughter, Blaire. Also surviving are brother Henry (Joann) Gerken; sisters, Dorothy Drewes, Katherine Alexander, and sister-in-law Lois Gerken.
Martin was proceeded in death by his parents; first wife, Marilyn “Billie” Gerken; a son, Scott Gerken; great-grandson Leonard Lee “L.J.” Harris, Jr. and siblings, Fred Gerken, Sadonna Williams, Frank Gerken and Marie Bahler.
Friends may call at the Edgar-Grisier Funeral Home in Wauseon on Wednesday, March 2nd from 2 to 6pm, with a Prisioner of War (POW) service beginning at 5:30pm. Funeral services will be held Thursday, March 3rd at 11:30am at the Emmaus Lutheran Church in Wauseon with the Rev. Charles Althoff officiating. Interment will follow in the Zion Cemetery.
The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Emmaus Lutheran Church, the First Baptist Church in Wauseon, or the Wauseon FISH Pantry. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.GrisierFH.com.