John Ernest Gerber went to his heavenly home the evening of Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, Wis., surrounded by his family.
John was born Nov. 2, 1944, to John Ernest “Ernie” and Pansy Fern (Johnston) Gerber in Richland Center, Wis. He grew up in rural Yuba. The Gerber family moved to the Ontario area in 1954, where John graduated from Brookwood High School in 1962.
He was united in marriage to Ingeborg (Inga) Eness on July 23, 1966. The Gerbers made their home in La Crosse, Wis., eventually purchasing a farm in rural Ontario as a weekend getaway. In time, the country called them back to make the “farm” their fulltime residence and raise crops and cattle. They were blessed with one daughter and two grandchildren who were the light of his life.
John attended Western Wisconsin Technical School to study printing. He worked for over 40 years at Inland Printing in La Crosse. He was a man of many talents and was a perfectionist in any project that he undertook. John performed a total renovation of their old farmhouse, from plumbing to laying floor and everything in between; he made the house Inga’s dream home. John assembled countless pieces of Scandinavian Design furniture with his brother-in-law Ken Rupp for Inga’s furniture stores. He was always looking for clever ways to streamline projects, such as when he rigged up a system for cutting sweet corn off the cob using a power drill!
His interests through the years included farming, deer hunting, collecting antique banks, watching NASCAR races, planting large gardens and preserving enough produce to last until the next harvest season. John was quite the pie maker. Everyone always looked forward to his pies at the holidays; he will always be remembered for his apple-pumpkin combo creation!
More important to John than anything was his family. John cherished his wife Inga for their 53-plus years together. His daughter, Sarah, was his world. This was only topped by getting the beloved role of “Opa” (Grandpa) to Sonja Ingeborg Louise and William Johann (John) Dennis. He beamed with pride when talking about his grandchildren.
John’s love for family was demonstrated more by action than words or emotion. Whether it be helping a family move to assisting with home/farm projects to bottling maple syrup to sitting beside you in a hospital waiting room, John was always there, and the family is forever grateful.
John is survived by his daughter, Sarah Gerber Hubbard (Dave Hubbard); his grandchildren, Sonja and William; his siblings, Marie Robinson, Ruth (Ken) Rupp, Roger (Kristy) Gerber, David (Heidi) Gerber, Mary (Rich) Houzner, and Paul Gerber; his in-laws, Norman Conant, Esther Peterson, Ida (Gene) Von Ruden, Eirik (Cheryl) Eness, Tor Eness, and Judy Eness; along with numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.
Preceding him in death were his wife, Inga; his parents, Ernest and Fern Gerber; his in-laws, Tom and Elizabeth Eness; an infant brother, William “Billy”; a sister, Betty Conant; and his brothers-in-law, Orval Baldwin, Earl Robinson, Pete Peterson, and Harvey Eness.
A funeral service for John will be at Salem UMC, 25438 County Hwy. T, Norwalk, Wis., on Friday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. John will be laid to rest at Wanderers Rest Cemetery, with a meal to follow at the Torkelson Funeral Home in Cashton. Online condolences may be expressed at www.vossfh.com.
