Obituary of Lawrence Gebhart

Lawrence Gebhart, long time resident of Fourth Creek, AB, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 in the Beaverlodge Hospital at the age of 77 years. Lawrence was born in Melville, Saskatchewan to Rudolph and Emily Gebhart on December 24, 1933, the youngest of 4 children. The Gebhart family moved to the farming community of Northmark in 1937 to homestead. In the early 1950's, Lawrence and his brother Bill filed for their own homestead in the Fourth Creek area, and moved to their property in 1955. Lawrence farmed until 1963; that year the grain prices were very low. He helped his brother plant the crop in the dust and left for B.C. to fall trees. While in B.C., Lawrence married Bernice, and they had two children, Sandy and Lance. In 1975 the family moved to the Fourth Creek community, and that is where Lawrence lived until the summer of 2009, when he moved in with Sandy, Travis, Chad and Tyson near Grande Prairie to enjoy the remainder of his days. Lawrence will be very sadly missed by his daughter, Sandy, son-in-law Travis, grandsons Chad and Tyson Fredland, grandson Jordan Gebhart, mother-in-law Margaret Christopherson, sisters-in-law Lynn Fontaine (Dennis McBride), Karen Ferguson and Nina Gebhart, brother-in-law Rusty Christopherson, and many nieces and nephews. Lawrence was predeceased by his wife, Bernice in 2005; their son Lance in 1999; parents Rudolph and Emily Gebhart, sister and brother-in-law Dorothy and Walter Nickel; sister and brother-in-law Marjorie and Orville Thomas, and brother William Gebhart. Funeral service was held on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at Savanna School. Interment followed in the Alexview Cemetery, Silver Valley, Alberta. For friends so wishing donations, may be made in memory of Lawrence to the Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital, Box 480, Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0. Very respectfully Reynars Funeral Home and Crematorium Dawson Creek, B.C.