OBITUARY FROM POST TRIBUNE WEBSITE:
RICHARD K. GERLICH "Iron Jaw" Lake Station, Indiana Richard K. "Iron Jaw" Gerlich, age 69 of Lake Station passed away at home with his family around him on Thursday, May 21, 2009 after a lengthy illness. He retired from NIPSCO as a lineman after 36 years and was an avid golfer with the Happy Faces Tuesday League and the NIPSCO Thursday Night League. Richard was a member and Elder of the Community Presbyterian Church in Lake Station, a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and a member of M.L. McClelland Masonic Lodge #357 F&AM, Hobart.
He was preceded in death by his father Lawrence in 2005. Richard is survived by: his high school sweetheart and wife of 48 years, Mary Gerlich; son, Richard R. Gerlich of Chicago; 2 daughters, Cindy (Lance) Wellmaker and their children Blake and Cameron of Monroe, GA and Tammy (John) Morikis and their children Tiffany, Tabitha and Jeremy of Brecksville, OH; mother, Marjorie Gerlich of Lake Station; brother, Lawrence (Carolyn) Gerlich of Portage; special nieces, Pat Bridegroom and Kathy Eden; dedicated friends, Dale Clapp of Portage and Tom Welch of Booneville, IN; godson, Noah Clifft and his parents; John and Melinda Clifft of Lake Station; and his faithful cocker spaniel, Heidi and granddog Mocha.
Friends may visit with the family on Saturday, May 23, 2009 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Burns Funeral Home, 701 E. 7th St., Hobart. There will be a Masonic Service at 6:30 p.m. Cremation will precede a Memorial Service on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Community Presbyterian Church in Lake Station. In lieu of flowers, donations in Richard's memory may be made to the Humane Society of Hobart, 2054 E. Highway 130, Hobart, IN 46342 or to Stem Cell Research Bedford Research Foundation, P.O. Box 1028, Bedford MA 01730. www.burnsfuneral.com
Published by Post-Tribune from May 22 to May 23, 2009.
This information was obtained from: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/post-tribune/name/richard-gerlich-obituary?id=24194490. The picture above was obtained from the 1958 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1958Images/.