Obituary of Andrew Paul Gebhardt

Memories of Andrew Gebhardt by his wife Brenda Andrew Paul Gebhardt was born March 5, 1960 at Castor Alberta, the third child of Helmut and Emma, with younger brother Tim to follow. His sister Linda recalls as a child his love for the outdoors and animals and one afternoon the kids were at the pond where the geese were frolicking. When the geese came up onto the grass to sleep Andy crept up to them and started petting them. The geese all chattered to him and went back to sleep and the rest of the kids moved in and they all fell asleep on the grass with the geese. Carl remembers pedalling the 6 miles down to the coulees past the Jones’ with Ralph, Steve and Andy. They had a bamboo fishing rod they wanted to try out. As they were going down the hill, Andy got into a speed wobble and crashed the bike. He skinned his nose all the way to his forehead. That was the end of the fishing trip. He was hurt pretty bad, kind of dizzy too. They found a piece of binder twine on the fence and took turns towing him home. There were lots of other bike trips to follow. The kids all took swimming lessons, which meant they had to ride 3 miles one way to the corner to catch the bus. Andy used to tell the story of going to the Summer’s place on his bike for a birthday party. It was a 3-mile dirt trail at that time and it was all muddy and hard pedaling all the way. As teenagers, Andy and Randy Quesseth pedalled all the way out to Buffalo Lake to camp. The kids all had to do chores around the farm and one year each kid got a baby pig to raise. The pigs all grew up and had litters, which the kids sold for spending money. Andy bought a Kawasaki 90 red motorcycle with his savings. He also earned extra money along with his brothers hunting muskrats. The boys got quite efficient at skinning and stretching them, some nights they would have upwards of 25 muskrats. He and the rest of the family enjoyed lots of camping, quadding and fishing trips throughout the years. The family took regular trips to Fork Lake and lots of fishing trips to Battle River and Buffalo Lake. Andy attended Donalda School to grade 9 and then Stettler high school. He worked at Superior Garage washing cars, and had bought a 69 Dart. This car is now owned by Dean Hewlett and is in many show & shines. It was well-know around Stettler, especially by the police. Carl and Andy were having a little game of cat and mouse around town and 3 cop cars boxed Andy in on Main Street. Andy’s excuse for the burn out was that the throttle stuck. He definitely liked his cars. Some of the vehicles he owned included a 79 Little Red Express Truck, 67 Rambler, 55 Chevy, 69 Ford Galaxie, 70 GTX, 70 Cuda, Tim’s 69 Roadrunner & a Datsun Station Wagon aka ‘the yellow banana’. After that he became a family man and had to buy sensible vehicles until he purchased his latest project, the 76 Trans Am. Some of the places he worked at included Alberta Transportation, Sedco Drilling, and Alberta Wheat Pool. In 1989 he started at Manalta, which is now Prairie Mines, where he has remained for the last 22 years, operating a variety of equipment and really enjoyed his job and his fellow crew members. Brenda met Andy in the summer of 1981 through her brother Fred. Andy and Fred hung out together, and of course, Brenda would tag along. Andy always had the party at his house, it was the place to be on a Friday night. Andy made so many friends in Castor and really enjoyed working with Don and Leo at the Wheat Pool. He took up the sport of curling and would volunteer his time at the rink in the evenings. He spent a lot of time touring the back roads at Castor, either hunting or dirt biking, and knew the countryside backwards and forwards. Their first date was a promotional supper in Stettler put on by the Roundup chemical company that Andy had to attend for work. They were married in Castor at the Lutheran church on August 16, 1986. Later he transferred to Ellerslie but didn’t take to city life, as the traffic and drivers annoyed him. Brenda can remember holding him back in the car as he challenged some guy to a fist fight that had cut him off. They lived in an apartment which really didn’t give Andy the space he needed for the hobbies he loved, such as tinkering with his vehicles. They decided to move back to the family farm at Donalda and back to the country life and the community he loved. Andy was so talented in so many ways, which is a godsend when you live on a farm. From plumbing to painting to mechanics and everything else in between, nothing seemed to phase him, he would just figure out how to fix or repair it. He started farming, and with his dad Helmut’s help started fixing it up and buying some used equipment. Although Andy wouldn’t always see eye to eye with his dad on everything, he and Brenda really can’t thank Helmut enough for all his time and expertise that he helped with to get the farm up and running smoothly. Helmut spent many hours together with Andy fencing, combining, helping out whenever there was a need. Jarrett was the first born on April 12, 1990. Andy was at the top of the dragline when he got the radio message that Brenda was in labour. He was quite nervous, but he kept it all under control till he saw the doctor show up in the same green rubber boots that Andy would wear out to the corral. Andy was a very proud dad, although he was still on the traditional side, where the mom changes the diapers and gets up for the night feedings. Soon Jarrett was toddling around and it wasn’t long before he was out the door with Andy going along on the tractor or quad. Melissa was born on March 19, 1992. This was the middle of calving season, and a freak snowstorm that day. Andy managed to get Brenda to the hospital, go home deliver 2 calves, get back in time for Melissa’s delivery, stay half the night to make sure all was okay and go home to deliver another calf and be back first thing in the morning to see his new daughter. He was a very dedicated family man and due to working full time decided it was time to rent out the crop land to be able to spend more time with the family. There are so many stories of Andy’s love of the outdoors, the numerous quadding trips or hunting trips. He was quite proud of the black bear he had shot and had made into a rug. He loved to snowmobile. While in Castor, he and Brenda were members of the Castor Snowmobile Club. In 1985 he participated in a ride from Red Deer to Valmont on a little Citation Skidoo. Andy enjoyed spending time with family and friends on skidoo trips around the neighbourhood and to the mountains. He enjoyed the solitude of the outdoors. When he had a couple of free days he would pack up the trailer and take off with the quad and go camping. He had special relationships with his children as they grew up, Melissa was daddy’s little girl, and any stubborn streak was put to the side when Melissa asked for something. She had him wrapped around her little finger. Jarrett was his father through and through, seeming like history repeating itself with the daredevil stories of pedal bikes, dirt bikes and vehicles. As Jarrett matured, they were more than father and son, enjoying their time spent together on the vehicle restorations, outdoor activities and their work. He enjoyed life to the fullest, and he will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and coworkers. Andy leaves to mourn his loving wife Brenda Gebhardt of Donalda; daughter Melissa Gebhardt; parents Emma and Helmut Gebhardt; mother in law Lee Muhlbeier; sister Linda (Douglas) Lavoie; brother Carl (Yvonne) Gebhardt, brothers and sisters in law Robert (Marilyn) Muhlbeier, Kenneth Muhlbeier, Wayne Muhlbeier, Fred Muhlbeier, Darcy (Tracy) Muhlbeier, Judith (Larry) Pals, Carol (John) MacNeil, Dianne (Pat) Page; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many dear friends and co-workers. Andy was predeceased by his brother Tim Gebhardt and by his father in law Frank Muhlbeier. Funeral Services were held at the Stettler Community Hall on Monday February 28, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. with Pastor Karl Faltin of St. Peter Lutheran Church officiating.