In Memoriam

Gaile Eugene Eichelberger
March 26, 1934-December 18, 2009



My grandfather, Gaile Eugene Eichelberger, was born in Shickley, Nebraska on March 26th, 1934 to Helen Kuhns and Glenn Aaron Eichelberger. When he was quite young, the family moved to a farm near Broken Bow, Nebraska, where he grew up. Grandpa was the oldest of eight children. His siblings include Vera, Stanley, Joe, Arla, Merle, Ray and Max. As children, they were known to be jokesters and pulled pranks on each other. Moving ahead several years, my grandfather married Laura Mae Roth in Sweet Home, Oregon on July 10th, 1955. My grandparents worked in Albany at the Mennonite Home for the Aged until 1956. My grandfather’s duties included milking cows and driving a tractor. From there, he and his family moved to Nebraska to help his father on the farm. They stayed for two years. In 1959, they returned to Oregon and, with the exception of a brief stay in Idaho, my grandparents have lived here since then.

After returning from Idaho, grandpa worked at Cooley’s Dairy. He started out milking cows but soon had a delivery route. He worked there for about ten years. He then took a job with Albany-Lebanon Sanitation in 1970 and worked there for twenty-seven years. My grandfather made many friends on his route, including Eric and Matthew, two little boys who waited expectantly for his weekly arrival. Grandpa retired from this position in 1997 but continued to work for Albany-Lebanon Sanitation during the summers for the next four years.

In addition to the service my grandfather provided to the city of Albany during his working years, he found time to serve his neighbors by caring for their lawns. I remember when grandma and grandpa lived on Vine Street, across from the canal. In those days, mowing the lawn could be an all day affair. Grandpa would start out by mowing his own lawn, a job that he approached with care. Then, he would mow the lawns of one or two neighbors. From there, he would mow the stretch of grass along the canal that was directly in front of their house, though he often took it upon himself to mow the entire bank of the canal to ensure that the job was done. He was a man who took pride in the appearance of his neighborhood and who believed it was important to lend your neighbors a helping hand.

My grandfather was a long time member of Fairview Mennonite Church. He served the congregation as a deacon and a Sunday school teacher. He also joined a team on a mission trip to Costa Rica in 2002. I for one was very surprised when I learned about his trip. I’ve always known grandpa to travel by car and stay within the borders of the U. S. and Canada, so it was an extraordinary feat for him to take such a long trip at the age of sixty-eight, and it showed the lengths he would go to help others. He and his team did various maintenance jobs at a church there. During the trip, my grandfather stayed with a family that attended the local church. He enjoyed his stay there a great deal and even maintained contact with his host family after he returned home.

During his retirement years, grandpa enjoyed visiting people and spending time with friends. He also liked attending local high school football games, where he got to know even more people. Most of you know grandpa was a devoted Nebraska Cornhuskers fan. He followed the team’s progress though the good years and the not-so-good years. As a testament to his good will and generous nature, though committed to the Huskers, he did not hold it against me for enrolling in a competing Big 12 school, nor did he reject my husband, who is a fan of the Texas Longhorns. He prioritized his family, even when football conflicts arose.

My grandfather is survived by his wife, Laura Mae, who stood by his side faithfully for fifty-four years; by his daughters, Susan, and her husband Danny; Carol; Rebecca and her husband Larry; Delene and her husband John; Anita and her husband Wendell; and by his son, Marlin. He is also survived by his favorite granddaughter (grandpa’s words, not mine), Yolanda, and her husband Ted; his favorite grandson (again, his words), Luke; and his favorite great-grandson, Little Ted, to whom he was introduced shortly before his passing.

Each one of us here today has a certain memory of grandpa that we will carry with us. For me, this memory is of my graduation. On that occasion, grandpa took the time to write me a special note to tell me that he was proud of the person I was becoming. Today, on the occasion of his passing, we express a similar feeling of pride. We have gathered to recognize that we are proud of the person he was and that our lives were enriched by knowing him. We remember a life well-lived and mourn its passing. And we take comfort in knowing that he remains with us in the memories we have and the legacy he left behind.

The above is a longer version of a tribute I read at my grandfather's funeral just three days before Christmas. My grandfather was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer during the Fall. It turned out to be very aggressive, but he battled it with courage and dignity.

Grandpa passed away two days after we arrived in Oregon. He was able to meet and spend time with his first great-grandchild during those two days of our trip. We know that he had been looking forward to this event for a long time, and we couldn't be more grateful for the time they had together.

Grandpa will be dearly missed.