ELKHORN – Jay C. Gerlach, age 77, of Elkhorn passed away on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at home in Elkhorn. He was born in Milwaukee on September 22, 1946 to Charles and Beatrice (Jankowski) Gerlach. Jay is survived by his daughter, Kimberly (Brian Wheeler); three grandchildren, Rebecca, Emily, and Nathan Wheeler; siblings, Jim Gerlach, Jed Gerlach, Joy Gerlach, and Jan (Scott) Moehling; two nephews, Geoff (Jenna) Harrison and Kyle (Shaunna) Moehling; niece, Marissa (Dustin) Gaddis; and great nieces Jada Moehling and Helia & Greta Harrison. He is also survived by his very dear friend and traveling companion, Pam.
Jay is preceded in death by his parents.
Here's a little about his life before he gained his all-time favorite title as "The Luckiest Grandfather" in 2003.
Throughout his life he had a variety of jobs. He worked for CUNA Mutual, was the night manager at The Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva and Chief of Security at the Abby in Fontana as well as a Walworth County Sheriff.
Throughout his career he was part of the Army National Guard and as an officer he decided to go on active duty. His first assignment was an Assistant Professor of Military Science at the University of Vermont where he taught Army ROTC cadets.
Afterwards, he had an assignment with the Office Chief Army Reserve at the Pentagon. During this time, he traveled throughout the world. Some of his responsibilities were validating military positions and preparing information for the Army leadership during Operation Desert Storm.
He then taught and trained military students at Fort McCoy, and later returned to the Pentagon where he worked for legislative affairs responding to Congressional inquiries.
He absolutely loved his work experiences and would share countless stories and life lessons. He was able to call so many cities and towns home, but retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel at 50 brought him one of his favorite chapters in his life.
Retirement led to a whole new level of opportunity because he was now able to travel to his favorite destinations as well as new ones.
He traveled, hiked, and car camped, taking advantage of everything a big city or National Park has to offer. He had moments and adventures and experiences like no other. He appreciated everything from the solitude and awe of nature to extraordinary entertainment and sights in big cities. He shared stories that were thought-provoking, inspiring and entertaining, they were interesting and sometimes shocking, but they always included humor.
Then 2003 came and his favorite chapter began. Welcome to life as Grandpa Jay. It's time to see and experience everything he possibly could with his grandchildren. He fell into that role immediately and with ease. It's now time to play, to pretend, to read and to laugh, to treasure the moments and to enjoy all that their childhood has to offer. It's time to provide and allow opportunities and teach life lessons every step of the way.
Then it's time for new adventures to begin. Adventures from New York City to Yellowstone National Park to the total solar eclipse in 2017 to live shows to extraordinary places the world offers and, of course, his all-time favorite place, Walt Disney World in Florida. The place his grandchildren were going from the very beginning of their lives. It felt like the adventures and the experiences would never end.
But his were cut too soon.
His next planned event was a Caribbean Cruise next year as a thank you to his traveling partner, Pam. It is because of her that we were given four more months with him. He was able to see his granddaughter, Emily, graduate from high school and have one more trip to Walt Disney. Next, he was planning on spending time in Asia and then off to Europe with his oldest granddaughter. But Grandpa Jay and Rebecca knew they weren't getting out of the country without the rest of us tagging along.
One of his favorite quotes and one he would repeat frequently comes from Winnie the Pooh, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." But it pertained to places, to moments, to doors closing and to children growing up. Now, it pertains to the loss of a life lived to the fullest.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 28th at White River County Park located at 6217 Sheridan Springs Rd in Lake Geneva, WI. Please join us anytime between 11:00 A.M. & 2:00 P.M.
To leave an online condolence, please fill out your message in the box below. You will then be taken to another screen which you can leave your name and email (No website URL needed). Simply comment as a guest and your condolence will be posted.
