Claire Gesie

CLAIRE GESIE

Monticello

Claire Gesie, 86, died Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, at the Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following a brief illness.

Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Monticello. Friends may call after 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the church. Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello, has taken Claire and her family into their care. Interment will be in Oakwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Avenue of Flags.

Surviving are four children, Rick (Julie), Waterloo, Tina (Tom) Haag, Monticello, Mick (Chris), Solon, and Rob (Diane), Monticello; her son-in-law, Carl Holten, Harpers Ferry; 12 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; her sister, Regina Schmidt; and her brother-in-law, Gene (Lanita) Gesie, both of Dubuque. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Robert (Dewey) Gesie in 1998; two daughters, Jenny Gesie, in 2007 and Patty Holten in 2019; and four sisters, Genevieve, Dorothy, Marjorie and Helen.

Claire Frances Gesie was born Oct. 18, 1933, in Monticello, Iowa. She was the daughter of Michael Ambrose and Mary Brady O'Rourke. Claire graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Monticello with the Class of 1951. She then went to work for Sam Schuetz at the Ford dealership from 1951 until 1953. Claire married Robert Gesie on Nov. 11, 1952, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. She worked at John McDonald Hospital for two years and for doctors Caraway, McDermott and Randolph, for 15 years; and then for Kramer Brothers Dairy Supply for 13 years. Claire retired in March of 1996. Claire and Dewey helped found the Avenue of Flags in Monticello. They and their family placed and removed the flags for more than 30 years.

The family would like to thank the staff at Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation and Above and Beyond Hospice for all the wonderful care given to Claire during her stay with them.