John C. Gertenrich, Jr.

John Carl Gertenrich Jr., 83, of Urbandale, IA, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, at his residence at Senior Suites of Urbandale, surrounded by his family.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, October 14th, 2016, at 11 a.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, 600 6th Ave, Des Moines, Iowa.

John was born on August 9, 1933, in Chicago, IL, to John C. Gertenrich Sr. and Doris (Much) Gertenrich.

He grew up in Skokie, IL, where he attended elementary school at Lincoln Elementary and graduated from Niles Township High School. He spent his first 2 years of college attending Waldorf College in Forest City, IA, where he received an associate in arts degree in 1953. John then spent 2 years of undergraduate studies at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He minored in physics and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics in 1955.

After being drafted and serving 22 months in the U.S. Army, John attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD, receiving a Master of Arts degree 1959.

John married Janis (Molstad) Gertenrich in 1961 just prior to his first tenure at Grand View College, now Grand View University.

John did a lot of the announcing for the basketball and baseball games during his time at Grand View. He announced five national championships that Grand View hosted: two National Women's Gymnastics and three N.A.I.A. World Series. John was also passionate about golf from a young age. He was the Grand View Golf Coach for many years and also served several terms on the athletic council. To many he was and will always be “Coach”.

He is survived by two daughters: Jana Loken of Canton, SD, and Julie (Jason) Bechler of Sioux Falls, SD; two foster daughters, Jennifer (John) Shedd and Leslie (Thanh) Nguyen, both of Des Moines, Iowa; two half-brothers Alan and Robert (Bobby) Gertenrich, of Skokie, Illinois; 3 grandchildren, 5 foster grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends.

Thank you to LaVerne Quass and Jay Sawtell for their years of friendship and support during the hard times of his illness; also thank you to the staff of Urbandale Senior Suites for their compassionate care the last few years.

Condolences may be expressed at:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

Print