Daniel Funeral Home & Cremation Service

Gerhard E. Frey

April 7, 1930 – February 14, 2019

Memorial services will be 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at St. Benedict’s Senior Community Chapel in St. Cloud for Gerhard E. Frey, age 88 of St. Cloud and formerly of Hibbing who passed away on Thursday, February 14, 2019 at St. Benedict’s Senior Community. Chaplain Nicole Reuter will officiate. Interment will take place at the Assumption Cemetery Columbarium. Visitation will be after 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the St. Benedict’s Senior Community Chapel. Arrangements were made by the Daniel Funeral Home, St. Cloud.
Gerhard was born on April 7, 1930 in Saulgau, Germany. He was the youngest child of five growing up during the war when times were tough and his family had little. After high school he went to a trade school and became a journeyman electrician with plans of following his older brother to Australia, as there were few opportunities for employment in Germany after the war. Unfortunately, the quota of immigrant workers had been reached and he was denied the opportunity to join his brother. So, Gerhard applied for an immigration visa to America where he had a friend who worked in the mines on the iron range. He came here with little more than the clothes on his back and a debt owed to his friend who paid his way here. He was offered a job at the Morton Mine in Hibbing, which after a 30-day probationary period he needed to pass a test to be hired permanently. It was at this point that Gerhard had wished he had studied English a bit more diligently while a student in Germany. He studied every night after work, and he passed the test and was hired. This led to a 30-year career working for Hanna Mining which involved the oversight of the construction of the National Steel Pellet Plant in Keewatin.
When Gerhard left Germany to come to America he not only left behind his family and friends but also his fiancé, Rita. He convinced her to join him and they were married in Grand Rapids on July 21, 1956. They eventually built a home in Hibbing where they raised three children as well as the best garden in Greenhaven. After retirement they enjoyed travelling and spending time at the cabin on Harriet Lake, taking saunas and playing cribbage. When Rita started showing signs of Alzheimer’s they decided to move to St. Benedict Village in St. Cloud, which offered the care she required. Gerhard would go visit her everyday giving her the comfort that she needed. After she passed in 2010 Gerhard continued to live at St. Ben’s until his final days. It seems appropriate that he passed away on Valentine’s Day as he is now reunited with Rita.
Gerhard is survived by his three children, Roland (Tracey) of Kalispell, Montana, Roger (Annette) of Rosemount and Christine (Steve) Schueller of St. Cloud; grandchildren, Maddey Frey, Garrett and Tyler Frey, Andrew and Hope Schueller. He will always be Opa to them. Also survived by relatives in Germany and Australia.
Gerhard was preceded in death by his wife, Rita; siblings, Ruth Gaissmaier, Elisabeth Frey, Margaret Bullinger and Walter Frey. 

Guestbook

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Please accept my condolences. It is a very sad/emotional time when our love ones sleep in death. I hope you find comfort in the words found in John 5:28-29 and look forward to the day where we can hug our loved ones again. This is a promise from the God that does not lie and that promises to wipe all tears of pain Revelation 21:3-4. For more comforting thoughts, please visit www.jw.org.

All my very best to the Frey family. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

When the Groveland Mine closed in Jan 1981, I and several other salaried workers for Hanna Mining were transferred to the MN Ore Operations. Little did I know that I would be taking over for Gerhard as the Electrical Supt. at NSPC. I felt bad as I had no desire to displace anyone. Gerhard could have simply washed his hands of me and tell me, “You’re on your own.” However, he took me under his wing and guided me throughout the whole process, showing me the ins and outs of the entire electrical system. I’m sure there were times when he should have called me a “dumbkoff,” yet he suffered through and helped me gain the knowledge I needed. His higher pitched voice telling a fellow electrician, “You Motor Killer,” in his special German accent still brings a smile. He really didn’t like to “run” the department as he confided in me that it bothered him terribly to have to lay off people (there were severe cutbacks at that time). Soon thereafter, he went to Abbot NW for heart bypass surgery, and I got to see him in a profoundly different way. Gerhard and Rita were always very kind to Betty and me. After he retired, we remained close, and he was able to do a great deal of drawing revisions for me as we upgraded the electrical systems at NSPC. I can still remember a drawing he made wherein he noted that the San Francisco earthquake happened that day (Sep 1989, I believe). All those drawings and the file drawers still exist in the back of my former office. I remember how he described what it was like to live in war torn Germany, seeing the American bombers flying overhead, being frightened that someone would tell the authorities that they had listened to BBC radio broadcasts. Gerhard explained to me that he saw up close what happens to people who lose their faith in God. I retired in 2017 some 36 years after taking over for one of the finest men I’ve ever worked with, and still with fresh memories of those who made my path a little smoother. May God bless his memory to all those of us who knew and loved him and Rita. Some of us have shed a tear or two of gratitude this day. There will be no wiring or piping shortcuts in one Heavenly Mansion that I know of!

Sending our most sincere sympathy. Thoughts and prayers are with you all. Love from Hibbing MN. Nick & Cheryl Danculovich

Your parents were both such wonderful friends to my parents. Mr. Frey, in later years, would stop by to say hello to my Mom when he was in town and she always looked forward to his visits. My prayers for peace go out to you and your family.

Please accept my condolences. It is a very sad/emotional time when our love ones sleep in death. I hope you find comfort in the words found in John 5:28-29 and look forward to the day where we can hug our loved ones again. This is a promise from the God that does not lie and that promises to wipe all tears of pain Revelation 21:3-4. For more comforting thoughts, please visit www.jw.org.

Please accept my condolences. It is a very sad/emotional time when our love ones sleep in death. I hope you find comfort in the words found in John 5:28-29 and look forward to the day where we can hug our loved ones again. This is a promise from the God that does not lie and that promises to wipe all tears of pain Revelation 21:3-4. For more comforting thoughts, please visit www.jw.org.

Services

Schedule Details

Memorial services will be 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at St. Benedict’s Senior Community Chapel in St. Cloud for Gerhard E. Frey, age 88 of St. Cloud and formerly of Hibbing who passed away on Thursday, February 14, 2019 at St. Benedict’s Senior Community. Chaplain Nicole Reuter will officiate. Interment will take place at the Assumption Cemetery Columbarium. Visitation will be after 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the St. Benedict’s Senior Community Chapel. Arrangements were made by the Daniel Funeral Home, St. Cloud.