Joseph "Joe" Wendell Gehrke

We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Joseph Wendell Gehrke, a husband, father, brother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Joe died on April 16, 2026 at home in his yard surrounded by the beautiful mountains he loved and amongst the little desert animals, like BooBoo the wild rabbit, and birds he fed daily. 

Joe was born on February 5, 1945 in Des Plaines, Illinois to Paul Fred and Ruth Elizabeth Moser Gehrke. He was the second to youngest of seven children. He loved his childhood and told many stories about eating fresh foods from the farmers fields and having adventures in, what was then, the country. 

Joe joined the Army at the age of 17 and was sent to Korea. He eventually became an electronic engineer and worked on many engineering and development phases of several large-scale military communications systems while working at the US Army Electronic Proving Grounds with the Signal Command on Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. He served as a Senior Systems Administrator, Instructor, Computer Programmer, and First Sergeant of the 39th Signal Battalion. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, and received a Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, a Meritorious Service medal, and many other citations for his outstanding performance of duty. They were stationed in Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and Germany three times before retiring after 21 years in the military and making Sierra Vista, Arizona their permanent home. He was very proud to have completed two college degrees in General Studies and Electronics after he retired. 

Joe loved Vince Flynn novels, gardening and building and flying radio controlled model airplanes. He loved to have adventures and shared his love of travel and learning and discovering new things with his children and grandchildren. He loved his family so much and we loved him beyond words. He was the best dad and Opa. He was our rescuer, our glue, our protector, and fountain of wisdom. We cannot imagine a world without him in it and will miss him so very much. 

He was very active in the Cochise County Republican party and loved cooking and bringing food to their Friday potluck dinners. It was a highlight for him. He and Cheryl made many good and lifelong friends there. He was also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and attended the Ramsey Canyon Ward. They have been a tremendous support and comfort to his wife during this difficult time and we are grateful for their service to her. 

Joe married Cheryl Jeanne Williams on March 7, 1965 and they celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary this year. They had two children, Alanna L. Van Pelt (Scott) and Paul P. Gehrke (Donna). Joe is survived by his wife and children, 4 grandchildren, Whitney (Savannah) Van Pelt, Cassie (Jeff) Perry, Zachary (Katelyn) Van Pelt, and Nicholas (Baylee) Van Pelt, and 9 great grandchildren (Tegan, Zoey, Theo, Peyton, Tatum, William, Rosalee, Aspen, and Houston). He is also survived by a brother, Paul Gehrke, three sisters Geraldine Schwartz, Sandy (Dennis) Carlton, and Pauline Stangeland as well as many nieces and nephews who adored him, his brother-in-law Jerry Williams and sisters-in-law Peggy Reeves and Sandy Roady. 

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