Gerald Charles Fuhrmann

Gerald Charles Fuhrmann, 83, of Ely, formerly of St. Paul, moved heavenly to meet his wife on October 10th.

Born in St. Paul, MN on April 18, 1940 to Oswald and Rose (Thell) Fuhrmann, he worked at Ancker Hospital in the Purchasing, Supply, and Issuance Department as a stock room helper and pasteurizing assistant. He was in JROTC, graduating from Cretin High School in 1958. His brother suggested he date nurses so he took one on a date. It didn’t work out well, but she had a friend (nursing school roommate) that she wanted to connect him with, resulting in a blind date and he met the love of his life, Anna.

In 1963 he graduated with a BS in Chemistry from the U of MN, enlisted in the Air Force becoming a Numbered Supply Account Officer, and married Anna E. Schick in St. Paul.

Gerald served his nation for six years in active duty and in the Air Force Reserves for 37 years, starting as a Second Lieutenant. He was at Officer’s Training School Lowry AFB in CO, and worked as an Aerospace Munitions Officer at Kincheloe AFB in Ml, and in Pacific Air Force at Hickam AFB in Hawaii. He inspected bases in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. He then returned to MN, was in the National Guard in Duluth, Air Force Reserves in Minneapolis, and worked with the Civil Air Patrol eventually retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2000.

He attended the U of MN Institute of Technology in Advanced Spectrometry Chemistry and the U of MN School of Public Health and was employed as a radiological chemist at the MN Department of Health. He earned his Masters of Public Health, collected, tested, and analyzed water, fish, and milk samples for radiation, was on call for any disasters, plus became a registered sanitarian.

He dutifully kept his wife company before she left for her midnight nursing shift and waited for her call to make sure that she got there safely, before returning to bed for her entire nursing career.

He prayed with his wife every evening, loved his Creator, and cheerfully insisted that his prayers were always answered.

He served his church at St. Gregory the Great and Lumen Christie in St. Paul, as a Eucharistic Minister, Sacristan, Lector, and Altar Server once retired and was always willing to help his daughter’s family with projects such as fencing, rotor tilling, and lawn mowing.

His wife had a severe hemorrhagic stroke in Dec 2016 and he stayed consistently at her side 14 hours a day until her passing 10 months later. He moved to Ely in 2017 because his greatest other joy was to be near his daughter and her family.

After his wife’s passing, he read books quickly, shopped at Ace Hardware with grandkids, went to museums and requested trips to Costco. His new favorite activities became mochas with his family, heading to the GEL for blueberry pancakes or cream of chicken wild rice soup, and Northwoods Partners Wednesday Men’s group.

Gerry leaves behind his daughter, Theresa Thompson (Craig), and his grandchildren Maxibillion, Bethany Rose, and Shepard Hank Thompson. Other survivors include brother Ralph and sisters Bernice (Maurer) and Virginia.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Anna (Schick) and parents, and brother-in-law, James Maurer.

A celebration will be Tuesday, October 24th at 1 p.m. at LedgeRock Church. Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in the future.

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