Mr. Valentine Charles Gersbach's Obituary
Valentine Charles Gersbach, 84, peacefully passed over on Monday, March 7th, 2016 at Suncoast Hospice in St. Petersburg after a long and fulfilled life.
He leaves his loving children Paul Valentine Gersbach (Lynnwood, Washington), Kenneth Charles Gersbach (St. Petersburg, Florida), Val Esperanza Ge (Winter Park, FL) and Jeannine Linda Charles (Sunnyvale, CA) and 7 grandchildren to carry on his legacy and to join his beautiful wife of 53 years, Linda Eugenie (Baker) Gersbach in heaven.
Born in St Paul, Minnesota to Valentine John Gersbach and Viola Mae Ellis Gersbach on February 13th, 1932, he had a younger brother, John Edwin Gersbach (South Burlington, VT) and a younger sister, Viola Mae Gersbach Sandahl who passed in May of 1997 who he lovingly referred to as Jackie and Sis, respectively.
As a young boy in Minnesota, he loved playing the piano and one day dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. That dream was cut short when his father passed when he was only 12 years old. His innate sense of responsibility to care for his family led him to join the National Guard at just 15 years old and later becoming a Sergeant First Class in the medical corps in the Army.
After his Honorable Discharge from the Army in 1951, Val decided he needed to learn a trade or profession. Enrolling in classes at Northwest Electronics, his training led him to take a job with Honeywell in Florida. Ambitious and motivated to provide a good life for his family, he took many opportunities to further his education, and reaped the benefits.
Val became the VP of Operations for John Fluke Mfg. after a successful career in electronics, sales and later management. One of his greatest memories and career accomplishments was when he worked in the Netherlands for Fluke B.V. He not only substantially turned the company’s revenue around in Europe but had strong, natural leadership abilities to recognize and hire solid, talented people to contribute to his success. Val could be heard saying, “People aren’t the best resource, they are the only resource.”
He married the love of his life, Linda, in 1959 and they raised 4 beautiful children and they travelled the world together. He loved music, home improvement, long walks on the beach, watching the news and philosophical conversation.
As a father, he and his wife taught his children unconditional love, strong principles, the value of a good education and gave them the tools to be responsible, productive people.
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