Roberta Gehbauer

Roberta (nee Reicenstein) Gehbauer was born July 25, 1917 in St. Louis MO, and died on October 20, 2016. Roberta was the only child of Josef and Birdie Reicenstein. Growing up, she loved to swim and play the piano. The family lived in the northwest part of St. Louis, and Roberta graduated from Soldan High School in 1935. After high school, Roberta went to work for the Globe-Democrat. One of her hobbies was working behind the scenes at the St. Louis Little Theater, an amateur acting troupe. It was there she met Jack Gehbauer, who acted both at the Little Theater as well as on St. Louis radio and even television shows under the stage name, Bruce MacFarlane. She and Jack were married on September 12, 1942. Jack was drafted, inducted into the Army soon thereafter; his new bride gave birth to their first child while Jack was in the Army. He was deployed to Europe in 1944 and discharged from the Army at the end of World War II. The young family settled back in South St. Louis, and had three more children. Roberta is survived by a wonderful, still growing, family: her children: Claudia (late husband, Paul) Maynard of St. Petersburg, FL; Bob (Dottie), of Plano, TX; Jon (Pam); and Daryl (Teresa), in the St. Louis area; 12 grandchildren: Michelle and Russell Maynard; Matthew (Amanda), Tracy (Mike) Voegtle, Robbie (Kristen), Clayton (Leah), Caitlin (John) McGinley, Wesley (Sofia), Dan (Nicole), Ryan (Sylvia), Tyler (Stephanie) and Maureen (fiancee, Ben Bowyer) Gehbauer, and 13 great grandchildren with three more on the way. She will be missed greatly, not only by her family, but by others who became almost like family including Mary Jane and Rick Kuhn, and their family, Dottie's older brother, Charles, and his good friend, Cindy, and Pam's mother, Millie. Roberta was a stay-at-home Mom until about 1963. Both she and Jack were very involved in the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) at Mullanphy Elementary School where her children attended. Roberta got involved in the Missouri State PTA, and ultimately rose to be the Vice President of that body. Eventually, Roberta did re-enter the work force, and became an employee of the St. Louis Public Schools, initially at Wilkinson School and for many years at Nottingham School in St. Louis Hills as the principal's secretary. Jack retired after 45 years with the Wabash, then the Norfolk & Western Railroad in 1969, and passed in 1982. Roberta and Jack were married in the Episcopal Church, and eventually, especially after Jack died, she became very active in her parish work at Emmanuel Episcopal in Webster Groves. She became an active member of Women of Emmanuel (WOE), and was always front-and-center to help with the cooking for WOE events. In addition to her work with the church, she was active as a docent for the St. Louis Visitors Bureau. Roberta loved to travel, and was an ardent Cardinal fan, enjoyed watching every game, and knew an amazing amount about all the players. She also enjoyed attending symphonies at Powell Hall and the Muny. Services: Visitation will be from 4:30 to 8:30 PM on Tuesday, November 1, at the John L. Ziegenhein & Sons Funeral Homes, 4830 Lemay Ferry Road in South County St. Louis(63129); the funeral service will be at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 2, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 9 S. Bompart, Webster Groves (63119), with burial at Sunset Memorial Park, 10180 Gravois (63123). In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her honor to a trust established for a special-needs great grandson. The donation should be made to the following: 'Trust FBO Wyatt Gehbauer dated January 14, 2016', and mailed to 62 Highland Park Dr., Chesterfield, MO 63017. Alternatively, donations could be made to the Emmanuel Episcopal Church or the Alzheimer's Association (http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp). November 01, 2016
4: 30 pm - 08:30 pm
John L. Ziegenhein & Sons Funeral Homes South County
4830 Lemay Ferry Road, St. Louis, MO (63129)
November 02, 2016
10:00 am -
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
9 S. Bompart, Webster Groves, MO (63119)