He was born in 1940 in St. Louis to Robert F. and Bernadette (Macke) Gebken.
Bob attended Bishop DuBourg High School in south St. Louis. He continued his education at Quincy College in Quincy, lll., for one year and then joined the Army Reserves. He later returned to St. Louis to join the family business of Gebken & Sons Funeral Home with his father. After the business closed, Bob joined National Vinegar Company where he worked in the financial department for the St. Louis office, retiring in 2007.
Bob was active in several organizations, namely the St. Francis De Sales Benevolent Society where he served many years as its secretary, and Western Catholic Union. Bob was a strong supporter of Catholic education; all four family children attended Catholic schools through high school.
A lifelong St. Louisian, Bob was an avid St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan; he would listen to games on the radio or TV and attend an occasional one at Busch Stadium.
He is survived by his wife, Jeanne (Hutcheson) Gebken; children Kenneth Gebken, Lisa Thibault, Linda (Doug) Bolen and Amy Gebken; and granddaughters Genevieve, Sophia and Lucille Thibault and Cecilia Gebken.
He was preceded in death by his parents and son-in-law Michael Thibault.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church on Friday, July 15 at 10 a.m. with Msgr. Vincent Bommarito presiding. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Edward J. Auer Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern MO, 425 N. Ballas Road, Suite 200 , St. Louis MO 63141.
