J. Guilford Gerlach |
| Posted 2009-07-12 by Sharla |
| THE WICKENBURG SUN THE WEEK OF APRIL 2, 2003 J. Guilford Gerlach was born Aug. 23, 1924 to Rueben and Florence Gerlach in Indianapolis, Ind. His family moved to Ohio when he was young and he grew up in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus. He graduated from Upper Arlington High School in 1942. Guil served in the U.S. Army for three years during World War II. He worked on the Proximity Fuse and also evaluated Japanese ordinance. After his military service, he attended the Ohio State University and received bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi, a social fraternity, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi, an honorary fraternity. After finishing college, Guil moved to Chicago, Ill. He spent his entire working career of 31 years with Amoco Oil Company, which was formerly Standard Oil of Indiana and is now part of British Petroleum. He worked primarily at the Whiting refinery but also worked temporary assignments in Mandan, N.D.; Sugar Creek, Ky.; Texas City, Texas; Antigua, West Indies and Kharg Island, Iran. He continued to do consulting work for Amoco after his formal retirement. Guil married Marsena Nelson on April 21, 1951 in Chicago. In 1980 they moved to Wickenburg, Ariz. After Marcy's death in 1997, Guil continued his lifelong passion of traveling and was very active in the Wickenburg Country Club Social Bridge games. He is survived by one daughter, Lynn Gerlach of Tenstrike, Minn. and one cousin, Alfred Purcell of Manchester by the Sea, Mass. Graveside memorial services will be held Thursday, April 3 at 10:30 a.m. at the Wickenburg Municipal Cemetery. Pastor James Longstreet will officiate. Contributions may be made in Mr. Gerlach's name to a local charity of one's choice. Wickenburg Funeral Home was entrusted with all arrangements. See Also: Find A Grave |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?