Earl Dale Gierke

POLSON — Earl Dale Gierke, 83, of Polson died on Dec. 28, 2004, at St. Joseph Hospital, Polson.

Earl was born on Oct. 24, 1921, in Edmore, N.D., to Alfred Emelius and Marthea (Danielson) Gierke.

They moved to Fairview, when Earl was an infant. He attended schools in Fairview and worked on both the family farm and the neighbors' farms.

He moved to San Francisco and worked in the shipyards before joining the military. Earl served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII. He served in the European Theater and took part in the Normandy invasion.

After WWII, Earl was discharged at Mountain Home, Idaho, and continued to live in Boise. He worked for Simplot and farmed near Grandview, Idaho.

In 1950, Earl moved to Sidney, and started working for LaLonde Construction and helped build the road between Belt and Great Falls. He met Elsie Holmes and they married on Dec. 24, 1951, in Belt.

He drove the city bus in Great Falls for one year. Then he farmed near Belt, Geraldine, Choteau and Fort Benton, and eventually bought a farm in Ft. Benton. He retired from farming in 1979 and drove school bus until 1989.

He and Elsie operated the Tiber Marina near Chester and owned and operated the concession trailer as Nick's Funnel Cakes for several years. They started working at campgrounds in 1994 in Washington, Oregon and Montana. They moved to Polson in December 2001.

Earl was a member of the IOOF. He enjoyed woodworking, gardening and especially loved traveling and playing cards. He enjoyed his family and friends. He loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor. He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Fred Lewis Gierke, and four brothers, Henry, Alfred, Bill and Kenneth.

Earl is survived by his wife Elsie of Polson; two children, David Gierke and his wife Teresa of Frenchtown, and Patty Gierke of Polson; four grandchildren, Kalla, Christopher, Michelle and Kevin Gierke; a step-grandchild, William Stanford; a brother Darryll Gierke and his wife Rose of Billings and numerous other relatives.

Memorials may be made to the Fred and Earl Gierke Scholarship Fund, c/o First State Bank, Fort Benton, MT 59442.

A memorial service was held on Jan. 4, at the IOOF Hall in Great Falls.