DONALD GEHRT

Donald A. Gehrt, age 95, passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 26, 2023 at Thedacare Appleton.   He was born on October 12, 1927 in Clintonville to Leonard and Elsie (Harke) Gehrt.  On April 11, 1953, he married Dorothy Richter.  They enjoyed 66 years of marriage together before Dorothy's death in 2019.  

Don grew up in Embarrass Wisconsin on the family farm.   Don was always a hardworking entrepreneur.  Even as a kid, he caught frogs in the Embarrass River and sold them for frog legs.   Don and his beloved wife, Dorothy, moved to Oshkosh and then Menasha – where he became a home builder and developer.   Don built many homes over his lifetime in the Fox River Valley.  When his crew wasn't busy building houses, they built duplex apartment buildings which Don and Dorothy then rented out.   Don continued to manage his apartments well into his 90s.   Don was very supportive of his family.  He helped most of his brothers start out in the construction business in the Valley.

Don was a passionate hunter and fisherman. He really enjoyed hunting for deer and big game.  He is one of the few hunters who have a Grand Slam – all four types of bighorn sheep.  He loved to fish for muskies at Roberts Lake and for sturgeons on Lake Winnebago.  He took up scuba diving in his 60s just so he could find out where the fish were hiding out.   He and Dorothy were lifelong members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Menasha.       

Don is survived by his children:  Randy Gehrt, Kevin (Denise) Gehrt, Kathy (Bob) Brost and Lori (Dale) McNamee; his grandchildren Chris (Sarah) Gehrt and their children, Charlie and Roger; Bryan Gehrt (significant other Anjela Powell) and his children, Brynn and Raegan; Adam (Miriam) Gehrt and their daughter, Zoe; Makenzie Gehrt and her children, Calyx and Mara; Allyse (Steve) Panaro; Trevor (Jessie) Brost; Nicole McNamee (significant other Logan Flood) and Elizabeth McNamee.  He is also survived by his sister, Irna Kromm; and his brothers, Ed (Joanne); Herman; Roger (Delores); Charlie (Marge); Dennis (Carol); and Gary (Sallee) and numerous nieces and nephews, their children and their grandchildren.

Besides his parents, parents-in-law Dora and Oscar Burow, and his beloved Dorothy, Don was predeceased by his brothers, Benjamin and Kenneth; his sisters Shirley Gehrt and Edith Liebzeit; his brother-in-laws, John Liebzeit, Peter Kromm, Gus Fuhrmann, Bernie Streicher, and Don Richter; and his sister-in-laws, Verdell Gehrt, Shirley Gehrt, Marie Richter, Phyllis Fuhrmann, and Joyce Streicher. 

Funeral Services will be held at 11 am on Friday, May 12, 2023 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 300 Broad Street in Menasha.  Friends and relatives may visit with the family on Friday, May 12, 2023 at Trinity Lutheran Church from 9 am until the time of the funeral.  A lunch will be served at the church immediately following the funeral.  

Burial will be at Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Embarrass, Wisconsin following the lunch.    In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established in Don's memory.