Melvin "Mel" Newton Gerard
April 19, 1943 — June 7, 2017
Melvin “Mel” Gerard, 74, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at Mercy Hospital, Cedar Rapids. Visitation: 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. Sunday, June 11, 2017, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids. Service: 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 12, 2017, at the funeral home, conducted by Rev. Dan Clark-Bridges. Burial: Assumption Cemetery, Wheaton, Illinois.
Survivors include his wife, Becky (Tharp) Gerard; sons, Jeffrey “Jeff” (Jenny) Gerard and Jason (Sara) Gerard; step-son, Mike (Karl) Holmes; step-daughter, Dawn Holmes; grandchildren, Isaac, William, Annie and Delany Gerard, Hayden Hoffman, Keegan McCoy, Connor Bilden and Walker Bilden; sisters, Betty Jacob and Joan Horning; and many extended family members.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Newton and Bessie; first wife, Linda McEnany; and son, Jereme Gerard.
Mel was born on April 19, 1943, in Victor, Iowa, son of Newton and Bessie (Lindsey) Gerard. He served in the U.S. Army, during the Vietnam War from May 1961 to May 1964. He married Linda McEnany in August of 1968, in Winthrop, Iowa. She passed in April 2008. Mel married Becky Tharp on July 18, 2015, in Cedar Rapids. He worked as a distribution manager for Goss Graphic Systems until retirement in 2006. Mel was a member of Hope Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids. He was an avid gardener and fisherman but most of all, he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.
Memorials may be directed to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Please share a memory of Mel at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
Survivors include his wife, Becky (Tharp) Gerard; sons, Jeffrey “Jeff” (Jenny) Gerard and Jason (Sara) Gerard; step-son, Mike (Karl) Holmes; step-daughter, Dawn Holmes; grandchildren, Isaac, William, Annie and Delany Gerard, Hayden Hoffman, Keegan McCoy, Connor Bilden and Walker Bilden; sisters, Betty Jacob and Joan Horning; and many extended family members.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Newton and Bessie; first wife, Linda McEnany; and son, Jereme Gerard.
Mel was born on April 19, 1943, in Victor, Iowa, son of Newton and Bessie (Lindsey) Gerard. He served in the U.S. Army, during the Vietnam War from May 1961 to May 1964. He married Linda McEnany in August of 1968, in Winthrop, Iowa. She passed in April 2008. Mel married Becky Tharp on July 18, 2015, in Cedar Rapids. He worked as a distribution manager for Goss Graphic Systems until retirement in 2006. Mel was a member of Hope Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids. He was an avid gardener and fisherman but most of all, he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.
Memorials may be directed to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Please share a memory of Mel at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
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