Willene Elsie Gerken

Willene Gerken was born on April 29, 1923, the second of three children born to Herman D. and H. Elsa (nee Meinecke) Kerkman. She was born in the house on the family farm in Cornelius (Washington County) Oregon. Her older brother Erwin died at the age of 4, when Willene was just months old. Her sister Emily was born in 1924. Willene died on March 9, 2015.

Willene graduated from Hillsboro Union High School, Hillsboro, OR in 1941. She attended Pacific Business College. She worked as a county clerk in the Washington County OR clerk’s office. As a deputy county clerk she had the rare opportunity to write her own marriage license. Her father, a County Judge, was the witness.

Willene met Erwin A. Gerken, the dashing young pastor of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Beaverton, OR, at a Walther League rally. They fell in love and were married on August 17, 1946. Pastor Gerken served Pilgrim from 1945 to 1950. The young family moved to Puyallup, WA in February, 1950, where Pastor Gerken served Immanuel Lutheran Church from 1950 to his retirement in 1987. Erwin died in November 2007.

Willene was a loving and faithful wife and mother. The Gerkens were blessed with 4 sons: Norman (Roberta), Daniel (Ruth), Charles (Kathryn), and Douglas (Denise); 7 grandchildren; and 12 great grandchildren. She and Erwin were avid spectators and rooters for their sons’ sporting activities, from little league, to school and church teams.

To help put her boys through school, Willene worked for several summers at the Duris Cucumber Farm. She was an attendance secretary at Keithley Junior High in Parkland from 1968 to 1982. She mentioned many times that if she knew she would be working at Keithley for as long as she did, she would have kept a record of all the lame and humorous excuses that students and parents made for tardiness and absenteeism, and wrote a book.

She also worked in the International Photo Salon at the Puyallup Fair for 15 years, from 1987-2001. She was a volunteer at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, giving over 5000 hours of service. She was a member of the Rotary Anns, an auxiliary organization of Rotary International, working on many projects to make her community and world a better place. She was an avid mall walker. She and her husband both walked over 10,000 miles before injuries and illnesses left them unable to walk long distances.

Willene was an excellent cook. On March 2, 1955, she won an episode of the local KOMO television cooking/game show, “Cookbook Quiz,” hosted by Dick Keplinger and Katherine Wise.

In addition to cooking, Willene enjoyed reading, gardening, and doing her daily crossword puzzle. For many years she would try her hand at some new craft, often with excellent results. She did decoupage, macramé, hardanger, tole painting, ceramics, and counted cross sticth. Her friends and family were often the recipients of her craftwork at Christmas.

Most important, Willene was a faithful child of God. She was baptized on May 13, 1923, and confirmed her faith in the Rite of Confirmation on May 16, 1937, both at Zion Lutheran Church, Cornelius. She served her Lord by teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School classes at Immanuel for many years. She was an active member of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, including a term as zone President. In 2001, Erwin and Willene transferred their membership to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Tacoma, where their son, Daniel, serves as Pastor. She was a faithful Christian. Her hope and wish is that you, too, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, so that you can join her and other believers in heaven.