Obituary of Paul Gering

Paul Edward Gering was born June 26, 1921 on his parent’s farm 22 miles northeast of Flagler, Colorado.  His parents were Edward Gering and Edith Huntzinger Gering.  His three younger siblings were Marie Gering, Earnest Gering and Lewis Gering.  He was in the Shiloh community for almost his entire life, attending Shiloh Central School and being baptized at the Shiloh church.  Paul was devoted to his parents and younger siblings. The family was very poor during the dust bowl years and their home was two railroad cars connected together. They later built the home that is still there today. In 2013 the Gering Farm was designated as a Centennial Farm by History Colorado and the Colorado Department of Agriculture at the State Fair.  Paul was very proud to receive the designation, though it was bitter sweet without Lewis there.  The brothers were partners and best friends.  They were upstanding in their neighborly lifestyle.

In December 1942, Paul answered his draft papers and went into the Army.  In Amarillo, Texas he wrote home that he did not know where he was going.  In January 1943 he was at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Little Rock Arkansas, basic training.  He then spent several months at Camp Adair in Orvallis, Oregon and transferred to Camp Ellis in Illinois.  In 1944 Paul was at Keesler Field, Biloxi Mississippi, with squadron 608-12 60^th training group.  In April that year he was at Daniels Field in Augusta, Georgia and soon after the Mississippi Ordnance Plant in Jackson Mississippi.  In September 1944 he was assigned to the 90^th Service Group in Grand Island and in January 1945 he spent 2 days at Pearl Harbor.  He shipped out to Guam, having reached the rank Sergeant.  He was a mechanic.

In September 1945, his brother Lewis was also drafted and did basic training at Leavenworth, Kansas.  In January 1946, Paul shipped from Guam to the Island called Tinian and in February was able to return to the states and was honorably discharged.  In February 1946, Lewis shipped out to Korea, serving there until December of 1946. Both men returned to the family farm after being discharged.

Paul and Lewis traveled together as a hobby, maybe to Detroit to pick up a car and tour the car manufacturing plants or a road trip to Alaska.  The men in the family loved to compete in trap shooting and this hobby also continued after their father passed away. But no matter the hobby all things always led back to the farm and their love of the land.  Even after Lewis’s death Paul continued running the farm. At the age of 90 he was still able to climb in his tractor and run the sweeps.

Paul came in to town to live at Aspen Leaf following a mild stroke.  His years at Aspen Leaf were happy years for him, except for a longing for his family and farm.  His belly laugh and stories endeared him to his wonderful caregivers. He especially enjoyed the Holiday celebrations and his outings to drive around the farm.  After a fall requiring surgery, he recuperated at Grace Manor in Burlington and recently moved to Brookdale in Aurora, where he passed away peacefully on December 8^th 2018.

Paul is preceded in death by his parents and all of his siblings.

A graveside service will be held Friday, December 21, 2018, at 1:30p.m. at the Flagler Cemetery in Flagler, Colorado. Memorials may be made to the Flagler American Legion for their handicap bathroom project.