Article published November 13, 2009
EUGENE C. GERKEN, 1937-2009
Ex-Henry Co. engineer was firm's principal
NAPOLEON - Eugene C. Gerken, 71, a civil engineer and two-term Henry County engineer who took over the consulting firm founded by his father, died Wednesday in Country View Haven nursing home, where he had been since September, 2008.
The cause of death was heart-related, his wife, Alice, said. He had heart problems and was in ill health for eight years.
Mr. Gerken retired 11 years ago from his consulting firm, Gerken and Associates, because he and his wife had a daughter. His children from a previous marriage were adults, and he decided to be a stay-at-home father for Amy.
"He was very proud of his daughter," his wife said. "He got a second chance. He was very understanding and compassionate to her. If she cried, he held her. He did everything."
In 1984, Mr. Gerken was elected Henry County engineer, a post his father, Carl, once held. He was re-elected in 1988.
"Gene was very, very intelligent," said Randy Germann, the current county engineer and the victor in 1992, when Mr. Gerken sought a third term. Despite that contest, Mr. Germann said, "He was very nice and cordial. There was no problem there."Mr. Gerken was known especially for his expertise in water and sewer projects, Mr. Germann said.
Mr. Gerken, a Republican, had his photo taken in 1984 with Ronald Reagan in Deshler, Ohio, during the president's whistle-stop campaign tour of the state.
"It meant the world to him," his wife said. "He thought that was great, that Mr. Reagan took time to invite him on the train and shake his hand."
Born Dec. 16, 1937, he was the son of Eugenia and Carl Gerken and a graduate of Napoleon High School. He received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan in 1959.
He moved to California and worked on road and bridge projects in Los Angeles and Orange counties for the state transportation department. When his father became ill, he returned home in 1963 to work at the elder Mr. Gerken's consultancy. He eventually was the principal in the firm, which had offices in Napoleon and Defiance.
Mr. Gerken was a former president of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. He was a past president of the Napoleon Rotary Club.
He was a Mason and a member of the Zenobia Shrine in Toledo.
Mr. Gerken followed UM football - he once played trumpet in the marching band, his wife said - and he held season tickets until several years ago.
When not in attendance, he was tuned to game broadcasts. Often with him for the play-by-play was Amy Torres, a caregiver and a former tenant.
"We both like UM sports," Ms. Torres said. "He was a true gentleman."
He was previously married to Mary Beth Stoltz.
Surviving are his wife, Alice, whom he married Sept. 18, 1999; daughters, Susan Kruse, Julia Zoldak, and Amy Gerken; son, Bradley Gerken; eight grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the Rodenberger Funeral Home, Napoleon, where the body will be after 2 p.m. Sunday. Masonic services will be at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the mortuary.
The family suggests tributes to Hospice of Henry County or the activities fund at Country View Haven.
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