Reistroffer, Geraldine 'Gerry'

Geraldine “Gerry” Reistroffer, 87, of Davenport, died Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, at The Kahl Home for the Aged in Davenport. Funeral Services and Mass of Christian Burial: 10:30 a.m. today at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Davenport. Burial: Rock Island Arsenal Cemetery.

Geraldine C. Reistroffer was born July 19, 1922, in Winnipeg, Manitoba Province, Canada, the second child of Clarence Gersham Leach and Mildred Jane Crosby. She was raised in Montana and California and attended Lakewood Junior College (later, Long Beach State) until the outbreak of World War II. Like most of her generation, Gerry served the nation during wartime, in her case as support staff in the Foreign Service at the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua. She married Eugene Francis Reistroffer March 22, 1946, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He preceded her in death July 4, 1973.

Gerry was employed for many years as an executive secretary at ITT-Continental Baking Company in Davenport until her retirement in 1984. She loved to read and accumulated thousands of books, which she gave away over the years to friends, family members, local libraries, and nursing homes. She enjoyed her yard and her flowers and for several years even managed to turn her patio at Palmer Hills into a lovely garden. Gerry was a member of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church. A proud parent, Gerry was fond of saying, “My children are my life.”

Survivors include two sons, James Reistroffer (Irene) and Michael Reistroffer (Carol), both of Davenport; two daughters, Kathryn Hirl (Steve), of Solon, and the Rev. Dianne Reistroffer, of Louisville, Ky.; ten grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews and cousins; and many dear friends and associates.

Her husband; her parents; her beloved stepfather, James O. Hart; three sisters, Virginia, Vera, and Phyllis; one brother, Cecil; and an infant grandson, Michael, preceded her in death.

Memorials may be made to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Assumption High School, or the Mary E. Reistroffer Scholarship Fund-Louisville Seminary, or the Kahl Home for the Aged.

Online remembrances and condolences may be expressed by visiting Mrs. Reistroffer's obituary at