Geraldine M. "Gerry" (Feldhake) Gast, died Monday at Briarwood Village in Coldwater, OH, after a brief illness. She was 99 years old and the proud mother of six children, 16 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

Gerry was born January 17, 1924, in St. Henry, the daughter of the late Aloys J. "Larry" and Eleanora Christina (Winkeljohn) Feldhake. She spent her early years living with her parents and sister, Mary Margaret, above the hardware store that her father operated. Because of her stellar performance in school, administrators and teachers had Gerry skip one of her early grades. This put her in the same grade as William H. "Bill" Gast, who would one day become her husband. In a memory book given to Gerry by her family, Bill wrote that's this was the first time he remembered ever seeing her. "You were the youngest member of the class, but also the smartest," he wrote to his wife.
  In high school, Gerry helped write the lyrics to the St. Henry fight song, "Red and White." She also began dating Bill. After graduation, Gerry attended Notre Dame College in Cleveland, where she earned a bachelor's degree in education. Gerry and Bill broke up, but not for long. During World War II, Bill's plane was shot down over Germany, and he spent eight months behind enemy lines with barely enough to eat. Most of that time he was a prisoner of war. Gerry wrote to him daily during his captivity. The letters never reached Bill and were all returned, unopened, after the war.
  The couple wanted to marry immediately after Bill returned to St. Henry. In the memory book, Bill described it as "a mad rush." Gerry found a wedding dress in Columbus that was to be shipped after alterations. It didn't arrive. Gerry had to find another dress at the last minute.

"We went to Canada on our honeymoon," Bill wrote. "We spent one night in Windsor, and a funny thing happened. The room had two beds. We had to pay for both, or they would put someone else in with us."

Early in their marriage, Gerry taught school in Minster. She left teaching while she was pregnant with her first child. She gave birth to six children over a 12-year period. After her youngest started school, she accepted a part-time position teaching French and English at St. Henry High School. She was fondly known as "Gigi" when she opened the school's French Department.

Gerry's Catholic faith was very important to her. When their children were young, Gerry, Bill and their children attended Mass multiple times a week. The couple continued that practice after the children were grown until daily Masses were discontinued. Gerry prayed each day and kept a blessed candle lit at all times as a constant devotion to God. Her children saw her as a role model of an educated woman, a devout Catholic, a practicing Christian and a mother who was always there for them. The couple put all of their children through college.

As a French teacher, Gerry long dreamed of visiting France. That dream came true when the kids left home, and the couple traveled to Europe. They also traveled in the United States and began spending winters in Florida, a tradition they maintained for a quarter century. Gerry volunteered at an elementary school, at a hospital and for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. In St. Henry, Gerry was a founding member of the American Legion Auxiliary. She was a member of the Daughters of Isabella and the Altar Rosary Society. The couple contributed to many charities with an emphasis on food banks.

During the 90s, Gerry took a trip most summers with whichever of her daughters or daughters-in-law could make it, usually to New York to see Broadway plays. One of the New York trips was featured in a travel article by The Associated Press. During other trips to New York, Gerry was excited to meet actor Tom Wopat and actress Faith Prince.
  She was devoted to her family. Nothing made her happier than seeing the newest members learning to walk, talk and give her big hugs. "You really love hugs," one grandchild wrote for the memory book. "I remember being very young and squeezing you as hard as I could when it came time to leave your house. To this day, the one thing that I'm sure I do is give you a big hug before I leave."
  Gerry had a special charm bracelet, and with each birth of a grandchild or great-grandchild, she would add a charm to mark the new arrival. "I always thought it was cool when I would figure out that you were in church at the same time that I was because I would recognize the sound of the bracelet," a grandchild wrote for the memory book.
  Gerry traditionally spent a week helping each daughter after she gave birth to a child. Over the years, the couple witnessed baptisms, first communions, confirmations, graduations, weddings, school plays and sporting events - in and around St. Henry and some hundreds of miles away.
  In 2008, Bill was diagnosed with liver cancer. Gerry devoted herself to caring for her husband, which included frequent trips to Cleveland for treatment. She seldom left Bill's side during the next three and a half years. After blowing out the candles marking his 88th birthday, Bill thanked his wife for her scrupulous care, jokingly referring to her as his "drill sergeant."

Bill died Nov. 3, 2012, leaving Gerry a widow after 67 happy years of marriage. Gerry missed him every remaining day of her life. Until recently, she continued living in the brick ranch home the couple built in 1949 about a block from St. Henry Catholic Church. She continued with her daily prayers and her love of family. She got an iPhone, learned how to text and found that it was a great way to keep up with family. She especially loved pictures that were sent to her iPhone and her digital picture frame. Gerry would send dozens of birthday cards each year to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Gerry was honored in 2017 to be co-grand marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in St. Henry.

In her final weeks, Gerry longed to have all her children with her at one time. They all gathered at Coldwater Hospital so she could tell them she loved them.

Gerry is survived by six children: Elaine Broering, St. Henry; Peggy (Richard) Harkins, Marion; Kathy (Jim) Broering, Dublin; Bo (Jane) Gast, St. Henry; Dorothy (Duncan) Abernathy, Richmond, Va.; and Steve (Lucy) Gast, Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; and five in-laws: John Gast, Carthagena; Joan (Mark) Wenning of Celina; and Jean (Jack) Bergman, St. Henry; 15 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.

Deceased are her sister, Mary Margaret Mestemaker; three brothers-in-law, Jim and Robert Gast and Robert Mestemaker; sisters-in-law, Bea Gast and Marty Gast; son-in-law Gary Broering; and a grandson, Joel Broering.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, March 11, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Henry Catholic Church in St. Henry, with burial to follow in St. Henry Cemetery.

Friends and family may call on Friday, March 10, from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Hogenkamp Funeral Home in St. Henry. Memorial contributions may be made to CALL Food Pantry in Celina. Condolences may be left at hogenkampfh.com.