Betty Gaerte
Betty Gaerte, 94, North Manchester, died Aug. 28, 2018, at Parkview Huntington Hospital at 3:59 a.m. She was born Sept. 14, 1923, in Wabash, to Ernest and Lora (Alberson) Kilander. On April 9, 1941, she married Herbert Gaerte Sr. He passed away Feb. 21, 2002.
As a young woman, she was an active farm wife, working alongside her husband while raising five children. In later years, she lovingly cared for her husband at home and as he spent his last years in Peabody Retirement Community. She enjoyed doing crafts, sewing and was an avid reader. She worked hard all her life, even caring for her own yard until the last year of her life.
Betty is remembered by one son Joel D. (Gaye) Gaerte, North Manchester; three daughters: Georgianna Hileman, North Manchester; Trudy (Jim) Rule, North Manchester; Sherian (Rod) Hicks, Colorado Springs, Colo.; seventeen grandchildren; twenty-five great grandchildren; and eleven great-great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, two brothers, one son Herbert Gaerte Jr., two grandchildren, and one son-in-law Michael H. Hileman.
Services for Betty Gaerte will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 1, at McKee Mortuary, 1401 State Road 114 West, North Manchester. Friends and family may call from 4-8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 31, at McKee Mortuary. Pastor JP Freeman will officiate and burial will be at Oaklawn Cemetery. For those who wish to honor the memory of Betty Gaerte, memorial contributions may be made to the Wabash County Cancer Society, PO Box 144, North Manchester, IN 46962.