Genevieve Gatto

GENEVIEVE GATTO

Cedar Rapids

Genevieve "Gen" Gatto, 97, peacefully passed away Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, following a lengthy struggle with congestive heart failure. Services: 10:30 a.m. Thursday at All Saints Catholic Church, by the Rev. John Flaherty. Burial: Mount Calvary Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Teahen Funeral Home and after 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the church.

She leaves behind her three children, Kay Janda and twins John Gatto and Jan (Janny) Gatto Erceg (Greg); her brother, Bob and sister-in-law Jeanette Magnuson of New Braunfels, Texas; grandchildren, Diane Janda and partner Gill Engle of Reston, Va., and David Janda and wife Judy of Falls Water, W.Va.; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Gen was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Johnny; and her brother, Kenneth Magnuson and sister-in-law, Velma.

Gen's three cats, Merlin, Notch and Roo, are lost without her.

Born Sept. 2, 1918, in Moline, Ill., to parents Mildred Vaye McQuillen and Rudolph Magnuson, Gen grew up in the towns of Wellman, Tipton and Cedar Rapids, where she spent her youth as the daughter of a Rock Island Railroad man. With her rambunctious brothers, Gen learned early on that being a tomboy fit her quite well. Graduating from Franklin High School, she and her family weathered the Great Depression and World War II. She worked several jobs over her early years, including a van company and a dream job at Sears Roebuck. Eventually, high heels and pencil skirts washed the tomboy away.

Gen married Harold Ward in the 1940s and they had a daughter, Francis Kay. After divorcing in the 1950s, she met and married Johnny Gatto on Feb. 4, 1954. They had twins Johnny and Janny two years later. A cabin on the Wapsipinicon River owned by her parents became the family getaway for fishing, boating, swimming and huge softball parties.

Gen and Johnny ran Johnny's Parkway, a Cedar Rapids restaurant and bar, for 45 years. Johnny received all of the accolades but Gen was the wind beneath his Italian wings! She cooked her way to success with Italian beef sandwiches, corned beef and cabbage and an ever changing, innovative menu. Every holiday became a huge celebration, whether at home or at the restaurant, due to her enthusiasm and talent.

Gen and John retired in 1987 to enjoy the many things that had been missed during years of work, including trips to Tahiti, Alaska, Las Vegas, Hawaii and Branson, Mo.

At the age of 84, Gen became bored and wanted a new job. With trepidation and a handful of recipe cards with song titles on them, she went to Von Maur and auditioned as a piano player at the Lindale store. She was hired on the spot and entertained customers with several years of music all played by ear. Children sat on her lap with proud parents watching, to play their first rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Gen once decided she wanted to swim at her Iowa River cottage, but she was afraid of the current. So her daughter, Jan, put a life jacket on her and tied her to a rope. Gen stripped to her underwear and jumped in, paddling around like an uncoordinated duck!

Gen was forced into another retirement as her husband slowly became debilitated by Alzheimer's disease, a disease that led to his death in 2005. She kept him at home the entire time, which was a credit to her determin-ation, selflessness and resolve.

Gen was an original. She had the uncanny ability to connect with strangers who became lifelong friends. The church played a big role in her life as she became a member of All Saints Young at Heart, hosting many parties at her cottage on the Iowa River. There was always another party to plan with friends and family. As she aged, she never lost her youthful spirit – and she acquired many youthful friends. She was a wisecracker, a naughty joke lover, a sympathetic ear, and the first person to offer help. She enjoyed a Bailey's Irish Creme and Amaretto, took to the air in her son's powered parachute, sailed on the Chesapeake Bay with daughter Kay, road shotgun on a motorcycle with friend Bill Fowler, and assisted many people with a heart full of love, decency and generosity.

Material possessions meant very little to Gen – people and animals did. She fed the deer, raccoons, squirrels, possums, chipmunks and birds, painstakingly spreading peanut butter on each slice of bread year-round. Her love of animals is the legacy she left to her daughter, Janny.

Her latter two years were a struggle with mobility, breathing and related health issues, but that never stopped her from throwing a good pizza party. Six hours before she passed away, she ordered several pizzas for everyone on the fourth floor of the cardiovascular center at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

In the end, Gen did not fear death, only the separation from her family. Her final goal was to live to be 97 and have a grand birthday party. It was close, but she made it.

We can only hope that the remainder of our lives are lived with such vitality, humor, humility, generosity and care for others in need. Gen was an outstanding role model, and this tribute is dedicated to her and all that she has brought to our lives. Keeping her memory in our hearts is our goal.

The family would like to thank Gen's home health aides over the last two years for all their love and care: Pam Klemetson, Connie LaMonte, JP Bosenberg, Carmen Stephenson, Mary Kay Frary, Melanie Neal and Kris Worthington from Home Choice Senior Care. We also would like to acknowledge her very special friends: Sara and Jeff Brown and their sons, Jordy and Ryan; Kathy and Ken Gourley and their kids, Kara and Kurtis; Steve and Ann Hamilton and their daughter, Megan; John and Margaret Erceg and Martika Hernandez; niece, Pat Bisland; and her religious rock, Linda Stavropoulos.

In lieu of flowers, and honoring her love of animals, memorials may be directed to Gen's favorite charity, Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids, PO Box 10111, Cedar Rapids, IA 52410.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.teahenfuneral home.com.