Paul Vincent Gehrs
Bethalto | Saturday, May 18 2013
Paul Vincent Gehrs, 77, passed away Saturday, May 18, 2013 at St Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, MO.
He was born on April 22, 1936 in Carlyle, IL, son of the late Herman J. and Bertha M. (Lake) Gehrs.
On September 30, 1961 he married the former Judy Etter at St. Mary’s Church in Carlyle, IL. She survives.
Paul was a graduate of Mater Dei High School in Breese, IL. He served four years in the U.S. Navy as a radar man aboard the destroyers U.S.S. Chambers and the U.S.S. McGowan. He was a life member of the VFW Post 3523 in Carlyle. He worked at Granite City Steel as a pipefitter for 32 years, retiring in 1997. He was a member of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Bethalto.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons and two daughters-in-law, Steve (Dee) Gehrs of Godfrey, Rick Gehrs of Bethalto and Tim (Deanna) Gehrs of Roxana; two daughters and sons-in-law, Kathy (Scott) Spooner of Godfrey and Susie (Mike) Griffin of St. Petersburg, Fl; eleven grandchildren, Nick Gehrs, Jordan and Madelyn Spooner, Sydni, Saige, Baleigh and Camryn Gehrs, Abigayle, Alayna, Benjamin and Cassidy Gehrs and a sister, Edith Gehrs of Carlyle.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his stepmother, Mary S. Gehrs, three brothers, Ferdinand (Mary) Gehrs, Charles Gehrs and an infant brother, Herman J. Gehrs Jr., a sister, Jeanette (Arnold) Grapperhaus and a stepbrother, Herman Campbell, and his father-in-law and mother-in-law Menard and Pauline Etter.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at Elias, Kallal & Schaaf Funeral Home in Bethalto.
Funeral services will be at 10:00 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Bethalto with Fr. Tom Liebler officiating.
Burial will follow at Rose Lawn Memory Gardens in Bethalto with full military rites being performed by the Alton VFW Post 1308.
Memorials may be given to Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church or the American Lung Association.
Online condolences and guestbook may be found at www.eliaskallalandschaaf.com
Elias, Kallal & Schaaf Funeral Home
