William Gereszek

William Gereszek, 85, passed away on April 5, 2020 at Miller Pointe, Mandan.

William Clyde Gereszek was born December 22, 1934 at Hankinson, ND. He was the second oldest of what was to be 10 children. His parents were hopeless alcoholics and eventually all the children were removed from the home by the state. Dad never held any animosity towards them it was just the way it was.

Dad was first placed in the orphanage at Fargo and later was farmed out to 3 different foster families.  Farmed is the best way to describe it. Back then foster kids were un-paid farm labor. Dad only completed the eighth grade. Education wasn't a priority with his foster parents. When Dad turned 18 he joined the army and served in occupied Germany. This was something he was very proud of.

After the army Dad moved to Seattle, Washington and worked as a machinist for the Boeing aircraft company. Despite having a limited education Dad always managed to have good jobs all his life. This was probably due to his good work ethic.

I'm really not sure how my parents met but January 3, 1958 Dad married Celestine Schumacher from Zeeland, ND. They probably married for all the wrong reasons.  Mom wanted off the farm and Dad was looking for the mother he never had. Their marriage had many ups and downs.

They made their first home in Seattle where they had their first two children, Mary Ann and Kevin William. Around 1963 the aircraft factory went on strike and Mom convinced Dad to move back to North Dakota.

In North Dakota, Dad eventually rehired with Boeing and worked on the refurbishing of missile silos. This work took the family all over North Dakota, Nebraska and even Colorado for a short time. While in Langdon, ND they welcomed their third and last child, Josette Marie.

When the Boeing project ended the family moved to West Fargo for 6 years where Dad took a job as a mechanic for American Wheel and Brake. After another short stint with Boeing the family moved to Mandan, ND in 1977. Dad then worked as a nighttime loading supervisor for Cloverdale Foods for many years. 

Dad always had a job. Never content to sit around, Dad finished his official working career with jobs at World’s Greatest Deals and a small office supply shop as their fix-it man. In retirement he worked for the Radisson Motel as a bellman.

When Mom's father, Jacob Schumacher, passed away Mom and Dad knew that Dorothy, Grandma, couldn't live alone.  By then all the kids were on their own so Mom and Dad moved in with Grandma. Dad was very kind and patient with Dorothy and acted as a son to her till her death on April 5, 2005.

Mom and Dad were on their own then with no kids and parents to attend to.  They never got along better.  But as time went on we all noticed little things about Dad.  Forgetfulness, a habit of repeating himself and an uncertainty of the location of places he had been to many times.

Mom died April 5, 2013 and Dad changed, a lot.  He lived on his own for 4 years but then moved into Maple View Memory Care.  Dad had Lewy Bodies Dementia. After a fall and a broken hip in 2019 Dad moved to Miller Pointe to recover and live out his final days.

I want to thank the staff at Maple View and Miller Pointe for the excellent care he received. Also the Alzheimer’s association for the help they gave me. A special thank you to the staff and customers at the AmVets for the kindness they showed us on his Wednesday bingo nights.

I’ll miss you Dad but now I know you are whole and well again with Mom.