Milton Clarence Gehrke
Milton Clarence Gehrke was born on January 23, 1926, and passed away on December 17, 2021, at age 95. He was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on February 14, 1926 and confirmed on April 28, 1940. He grew up on a farm south of Herington in a very small house with four brothers and one sister and his parents. At age 18 he quit school and joined the Army to serve in WWII on June 1, 1944. He did Basic Training in North Carolina and during that time his brother Roy was killed in the war. Milton was able to come home for the funeral and when he returned to North Carolina, his Army buddies had already been sent off to war, so Milton had to take Basic Training for the second time. He was stationed in Central Europe and received many Medals and Ribbons. He received an Honorable Discharge on April 25, 1946. After returning from the war, he hauled cattle to the Kansas City Stockyards. During that time, he started dating Mildred Kohls. They went to the same church, and he asked her out on their first date at St. Paul’s Lutheran. They wed on September 25, 1949. He then worked at the Herington Fairgrounds as the caretaker. In 1952 he and his wife and daughter Jolene moved to Ulysses Kansas to run and work at the alfalfa fields and run the irrigation. He later bought the Standard Service Station and two brothers, and a nephew joined him in working there. His wife Mildred did the accounting. He and his wife built a new house in 1954 and had their son David was born in 1955. In 1960 they moved to Salina Kansas, and he worked at the Missile Silos. He worked through the night and slept during the day. In 1961 they finally moved back to Herington where he wanted to fulfill his dream of becoming a farmer/rancher. He managed the Herington Cattle Co. at the airbase in Herington and farmed and took care of his cattle after work. He later worked at Skelgas and delivered propane to farmers in the area and still did his own farming and feeding his cattle after work often until midnight or after. He had his son David driving a tractor and helping with the cattle at age 10. David continued to help his dad until recently while he was also working fulltime and giving up family time to help his dad.
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