Reinhart E. Gertz

Reinhart Elmer Gertz,88, of Wilmore, Kentucky, passed away Tuesday, March 18, 2008 in Wilmore, Kentucky. Born May 14, 1919 in Cleveland to Wanda (Gramse) & Gustav Gertz. Married his wife of 58 years, Marion Strasen in Geneva, Ohio on 5/27/1945 He attended Geneva High School and Concordia College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. During World War II, he served in the Air Force, piloting B-24 bomber raids against the Ploesti oil fields from a base in Foggia, Italy. For his military service, he was awarded the Air Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Presidential Unit Citation Medal, the American Defense Service Medal and other awards. An active lay leader in his church, he also served as organist and choir director at St. Paul?s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cleveland and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thompson, Ohio. He worked as a mortgage loan officer at Society for Savings, Cleveland, before taking a similar position at Geneva Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1958, where he retired as President in 1981. He is survived by 1 Daughter, Melinda (Lee) Althoff of Westfield, IN; 1 Son, Jonathan (Joan) Gertz of Lexington, KY; 6 Grandchildren, Michelle (Steve) Grifka, Becky (Mike) Wegner, Leigh (Shawn) Mannion, Kathleen (Luke) Hugel, Johanna Gertz and Jonathan Gertz; 7 Great Grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marion in 2003. Friends will be received 5:00-8:00 p.m., Friday, March 21, 2008, at The Behm Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 26 River Street, Madison, OH. Funeral Service will be 11:00 a.m., Saturday, March 22, 2008 at Grace Lutheran Church, 8091 Plank Road, Thompson, OH 44086. Final Resting Place will be at Lutheran Cemetery in Cleveland.