Geraldine Carmody

Geraldine "Gerrie" Minnie Carmody was born on September 5, 1932 to John and Louise (Gildemeister) Martens in Burke Township, Pipestone County, Minnesota. She was raised and received her education in Pipestone, Minnesota, graduating high school in 1951. Following school, she worked as a telephone operator. On March 7, 1953, Gerrie married George Carmody at St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. The couple first lived in New Haven, Connecticut, until 1957, when they returned to Pipestone. Two years later they moved back to New Haven for a few years. In 1962, they made their permanent move to Pipestone and raised their six children. Gerrie remained home with the kids while they were little. George unexpectedly died on July 7, 1975. Life for Gerrie and the children changed dramatically, but the family persevered. Gerrie became a grocery clerk at Hank's Foods in Pipestone. After numerous years of serving the community and creating many relationships with customers and colleagues, she retired in 2012. In November 2018, Gerrie became a resident at the Good Samaritan Communities in Pipestone, where on Friday, February 3, 2023, she died peacefully at the age of 90 years, four months and 29 days.

Gerrie was a member of St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. She enjoyed shopping with her girls, playing bingo, and sitting in her chair, drinking a coke while keeping her eyes on the neighborhood. She also enjoyed attending her sons' and later her grandchildren's sporting events. While in her excitement at these events, she was always hitting the person next to her and grabbing their knee, shirt or shoulder which began the debate, "whose turn was it to endure the pain?" She was always up for babysitting her grandchildren when the need arose. Her family, children, grandkids and great-grandkids were her life! She was spunky, stubborn, sweet, and often a spitfire, but will be remembered for being a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Gerrie is lovingly survived by her children, Grace(Duane) Miersma of Ruthton, Minnesota, Deb (Charlie) Steenstra of Pipestone, Sandi (Dean) Ford of Pipestone, Cliff (Bobbie) Carmody of Marshall, Minnesota, Mike (Mary) Carmody of Lake Benton, Minnesota, and Mary (Gary) Wabeke of Ruthton; 20 grandkids, Brooke (Corey) Van Essen, Britney (Ryan) Fischer, Kara (Jason) March, Danny (Jody) Steenstra, David (Sarah) Steenstra, Angela (Jason) Cowles, Chris (Shannon) Gorter, Brianna Ford, Aubrie Ford, Casey (Robin Turnblom) Carmody, Matt (Dana) Carmody, Sean (Elizabeth) Netzke, Jeni Carmody (boyfriend, Daniel), Alyssa (RJ) Kelly, Lauren Netzke (fiancé, Jesse), Braden Carmody (fiancé, Syndey), Morgan Carmody (fiancé, Kyler), Preston (Vanessa) Wabeke, Shay (Shaylene) Wabeke, and Ashlynn Wabeke; 21 great-grandkids, Cameron, Liam, Lila, Westyn, Cody, Landon, Ian, Ellie, Bennett, Ezra, Emmy, Hannah, Tyler, Gavin, Collin, Loralai, Easton, Logan, Braelynn, Grayson, and Breccan; and numerous other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, George; parents, John and Louise; sister, Delores Stebritz; and brothers, John and Cliff Martens.