[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14682]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MARY E. GERKEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 4, 2011

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the life of Mary 
E. Gerken, who passed from this life at age 90 years. She was an 
indefatigable educator, brilliant student, source of inspiration, 
enduring mother for her family and our community, and woman of deep, 
abiding faith. Her life truly can be described as a woman for others. 
We offer our condolences to her family, especially her children Cathy, 
Fran, George and Pete.
  Born August 29, 1920 to Nettie Mosher, a World War I Army nurse, Mary 
Gerken grew up in Northwest Ohio and was the Valedictorian of her 
Perrysburg High School graduating class. She went on to obtain a 
Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry from Mary Manse College and her 
Master's Degree in Science Education and Microbiology from the 
University of Toledo. Married following World War II, Mary then was 
widowed with four young children.
  Long before women were welcomed in the sciences, she was blazing a 
path for those that would follow. Even as she raised her family and 
cared for her mother and mother-in-law, Mary taught at the high school 
and college levels. A conscientious parent, she instilled in her 
children a core of social justice, exposure to the liberal arts, and 
insisted on a college education for each of them.
  After her retirement--in her seventies--Mary traveled a new path. She 
taught Native Americans in Minnesota and worked with a community of 
religious sisters. When she came home several years later, she began a 
tenure of public service as an industrial hygienist with OSHA. She 
served as a Eucharistic Minister in her church and was a member of 
Zonta International.
  Mary E. Gerken is an example of a life well-lived. She leaves a 
legacy of service, compassion and industry to her family and our 
community. Our community expresses its gratitude for her many decades 
of exceptional teaching, good humor, humility, and encouraging nature. 
We shall miss her spirited presence but remain grateful always for the 
lasting legacies her life's work generously gave to us.

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