Gregory L. Gerdes

Gregory Lee Gerdes, 47, of Fairfax, IA, and formerly of Mason City, IA, died suddenly on Tuesday, October 27, 2015. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 31, 2015, at Hillside Wesleyan Church, 2600 1st Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405. Per his wishes he was cremated. Memorials may be directed to the Greg Gerdes memorial fund.

Greg was born August 22, 1968, at Mercy Hospital in Mason City. He was baptized and confirmed at Our Saviors Lutheran Church. He graduated from Mason City High School in 1986. He attended NIACC and graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was employed at CIPCO as Director Generation Assets for 21 years. At the time of his death, he was employed by University of Iowa Facilities as Maintenance and Reliability Manager.

Greg had many interests. He loved to read. He was always an engineer at heart and enjoyed designing and fixing anything. He loved the outdoors and had many memorable times fishing, camping and kayaking with his family and friends. He was a kind and sensitive man, always willing to help anyone. Most of all he loved his family.

Left to cherish his memory is his wife: Christine; his daughters: Erika and Katy of Fairfax, his parents: Gary and Sue Gerdes; brother: Doug (Michelle) Gerdes; in-laws: Rick and Luan Schlung; brothers-in-law: Jim (Amy) Schlung and Allen Schlung; nephews: Dylan and River Schlung; aunts: Ruth Schlesinger and Anita Walker; cousins: Ned Walker and Heather Kral. He is also survived by his best friends since boyhood: Dave (Christine) Cork and Darin Ames.

He was preceded in death by maternal and paternal grandparents; uncle: Ned Walker (1971) and aunt: Mary Ann Walker (2012).