James Gerdes

James Harvey Gerdes was born to Harvey and Ethel Gerdes on January 5, 1936 in Sac County Iowa. He and his sister, Shirley, grew up on several farms in the state of Iowa.  Later in life, along came his little brother Terry.  Jim was active in all the sports, glee club, and played several instruments in band.  After graduating from Wall Lake High School, he went to Chicago, Illinois and got his certificate from DeVry Institute in technical engineering and then went to work for NBC as a cameraman.  He met his lovely wife, Charlotte, while home caring for his dad who had been in a tractor accident.  After a one year long courtship, they married November 25, 1956.   their four children, Jeff, Scott, Cyndi and David, came along rather quickly and life changed yet again.  Jim came to know Jesus as his personal savior when he was 29 years old.  After leaving NBC, Jim went to work as a radar technician for the Federal Aviation Administration in 1960 and retired after 31 years of service.  The Gerdes family lived in the wild west of first Colorado and then Wyoming, where the family spend every minute they could in the great outdoors, fishing, hiking, camping, hunting and horseback riding.  While in Wyoming, Jim learned how to break horses, raise beautiful gardens to feed all those kids, built a house, and endured an amazing array of weather.  The family eventually ended up moving back to Colorado, where they continued to enjoy the same activities but much better weather!

Jim taught the high school class at church for many years, lead songs for church services and was a soloist.  He spent many years in choir and sang in the cantatas.  Jim and Charlotte also opened their home to bible study groups.

Jim got very ill in 2001 and almost died, but God gae us all 15 more years with him.  Jim and Charlotte spent many years traveling and have been to every state except Alaska!  Throughout his life, he was able to bless people with his beautiful voice.  He always wanted the songs he sang to point to Jesus.  His greatest wish is that all of his family and friends have a personal relationship with Jesus so we can all meet again in Heaven.  Jim went to be with his Lord and Savior peacefully in his sleep on March 2, 2016 and awoke in teh arms of Jesus!

The memorial service will be held on March 26, 2016 at 1:00 pm at Redlands Community church, 2327 Broadway, Grand Junction, CO  81507.  Memorial contributions may be sent to Hope West Hospice, 3090 B N. 12th St., Grand Junction, CO  81506 or Redlands Community Church, 2327 Broadway, Grand Junction, CO  81507.  Condolences for the family may be left at brownscrematonservice.com

Jim is preceded in death by his sister and his parents.