Geraldine "Gerri" Hotchkiss

1 John 5:11-12 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Geraldine (Gerri) Hotchkiss went home to be with the Lord on December 26, 2024, in the care of Trinity Center at Luther Park.

Born on August 29, 1938, in Glenburn, North Dakota to Ernest and Martha Armstrong (Milkey). Gerri grew up on her parents’ farm near Glenburn. She learned how to be a homemaker from her mom and was favored by her dad who called her Blossom. Gerri enjoyed sports in high school but ended up a cheer leader due to her petite stature. She graduated from Glenburn High School in 1957.

After graduating from high school, Gerri worked as a nutritionist at a hospital in Minot, North Dakota. She met the love of her life, Gordon Hotchkiss, when they went to the local carnival on a blind date in the summer of 1958. The two were wed on May 31, 1959, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Glenburn, North Dakota.

Gerri enjoyed her role as wife, mother, and homemaker. She rarely worked outside the home while her sons were in school. She did, however, volunteer for lunch duty and playground monitor at Adams Elementary School when her sons attended there. Eventually, Gerri worked in the records department of Farmland Life Insurance Company for several years, retiring in 1988.

Gerri loved her husband and family with all her heart – especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Gerri spent countless hours involved with her sons’ activities, including Scouts, baseball, basketball, and football. She loved to host family gatherings, usually preparing at least twice as much as the family could eat. She especially enjoyed the times she and Gordon had alone with their grandchildren when they would play games, and she would let her grandchildren help her with baking. Gerri and her husband were active members of Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines and Hope Lutheran Church on the east side of Des Moines.

Gerri is survived by her sons, Dan and Terry (Mary); her grandchildren, David (Jessica) Hotchkiss, Emily (JJ) Petersen, Sarah (Danny) Dowd, and Bethany (Tanner) Battles; her great grandchildren Lydia Hotchkiss, Eliza and Adeline Dowd, Zion and Maya Battles, Dietrich and Corrie Petersen and her sister Cheryl Whitson.

Gerri was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon; parents, Ernest and Martha and her brothers, Larry and Jerry Armstrong.

The family will greet friends on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 from 10:00am to 11:00am at Lutheran Church of Hope, 925 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines followed immediately by the Celebration of Life Service at 11:00 a.m.. Gerri will be interned at Highland Memory Gardens, where the family will have a private service.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like memorial contributions to be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

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