Gerard O. Morhardt

Gerard O. Morhardt, age 72, of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, passed away January 4, 2017, at home surrounded by his family following short illness. A memorial fund has been established in Gerard's memory. A Celebration of Gerard’s life will be held from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., on January 15, 2017 at the Tipton Auction House, 3001 Il 84, Thomson, Il 61285.
Gerard was born March 22, 1944 in Woodland Township rural Mt. Carroll, the son of Adam and Catherine (Hall) Morhardt. He attended Mt. Carroll High School and graduated with the Class of 1963. Gerard married the love of his life, Elaine Becker, in 1964. He and Elaine both worked at Kelly Springfield for a short amount of time before starting their farming career in Milledgeville, Illinois. They moved to Mt. Carroll to farm and raise their family.
Gerard served on the Woodland Township Board for many years. He enjoyed hunting and managing his farmland. But most of all he loved laughing and joking with his family and many friends. He could put a smile on anyone’s face and his grandchildren could always put a smile on his.
Gerard will be dearly missed by his wife, Elaine of Mt. Carroll; a daughter, Penny (Lenny) Dacanay of Crystal Lake, Illinois; son, Dennis (Debbra) Morhardt of Savanna, Illinois; five grandchildren, Travis Morhardt of Sagle, Idaho, Sophi (Brady) Edwards of Savanna, Macaria Dacanay of Chicago, Illinois, Paige Dacanay of DeKalb, Illinois, Erika Dacanay of Crystal Lake; one great-granddaughter, Dawsyn May Edwards of Savanna; mother-in-law, Marilyn Becker of Mt. Carroll; two sister-in-laws, Carol Morhardt of Mt. Carroll, Beverly (Jim) Hufman of Morrison, Illinois; brother-in-law, Wayne (Kathy) Becker of Mt. Carroll. Gerard was preceded in death by his parents, Adam and Catherine, a brother, Gary Morhardt, his father-in-law, Allan Becker and a sister-in-law, Colleen Becker.