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Thomas Gebel

thomas gebel

October 26, 1934 ~ February 10, 2022

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Thomas Nicholas Gebel, age 87, of New Hampton, IA passed away peacefully at his home the morning of Thursday, Feb. 10 under the care of his loving wife, Marian (Wacha) Gebel, his daughter Terri Allen, and St. Croix Hospice. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022 at Holy Family Parish in New Hampton, with a continued visitation one hour prior to the funeral mass. The mass will be celebrated by Father Brian Dellaert. For those unable to attend the funeral, you are able to join the family via Facebook Live through Conway-Markham Funeral Home's Facebook page. Burial will be held at St. Mary's Cemetery at a later date. A visitation will be held from 4 - 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022 at Conway-Markham Funeral Home in New Hampton with a 3:30 p.m. Rosary and a 7 p.m. Scriptural Wake Service. In honor of Tom and in keeping with the family's wishes, memorials may be directed to St. Croix Hospice or to the Knights of Columbus Council 1697. To share online condolences, please visit Tom Gebel's obituary at www.conway-markhamfh.com. Born on Oct. 26, 1934 in New Hampton, Thomas "Tom" Nicholas Gebel was the son of Louis and Marie (Kolbet) Gebel. One of five children, Tom was raised on a farm near Alta Vista with his three brothers, Jim, Don and Dan, and his sister, Barb. He graduated in 1952 from St. William's High School in Alta Vista. After attending Loras College for a period of time, Tom worked at Borden's Ice Cream in Cedar Rapids for two years before returning home to help on the farm after the death of his father. On June 29, 1957, Tom Nicholas Gebel was united in marriage to Marian Johanna Wacha at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Lourdes, IA. The "Home of the Seven Gebels," Tom and Marian raised their five children, Deb, Tim, Terri, Mike and Andy, in New Hampton. During this time, Tom worked for Elma Locker, Liddles supermarket, Jack and Jill supermarket, and Sara Lee. While working for Sara Lee, he also served in a part-time position reading meters for the City of New Hampton and, upon his eventual retirement from Sara Lee, he began part-time delivery for the local flower shop Pocketful of Posies. These part-time positions were perfect for Tom, as he could always socialize with any stranger and enjoyed the opportunity to brighten people's days with flowers. Tom was a Knights of Columbus member since 1955 and an active member of St. Joseph's and St. Mary's parishes, where he attended mass regularly. He was a frequent golfer-once achieving a hole-in-one-and card player, with his favorite card game being euchre. Other interests of his included fishing, gardening, hunting, traveling with Marian and friends on bus trips, and puttering around in the yard-where he'd survey his raspberry bushes and his bird feeders. Tom kept the neighborhood bird varieties well fed and had an impressive ability to recognize each species. Thanks to his two favorite hobbies, jam making and jigsaw puzzling, visitors frequently left Tom's company with a fresh jar of raspberry jam or a beautifully framed jigsaw puzzle he had just completed. He also found joy in watching sports with Marian, talking about his baseball card collection, trying his luck at a casino, visiting Dubuque, IA, and just spending time with his numerous loving family members and friends. Living family members include his wife of 64 years, Marian (Wacha) Gebel of New Hampton; five children, Deb (Steve) Winter of Bettendorf; Tim (Denise) Gebel of Sherrard; Terri (J.J.) Allen of Ames; Mike (Rhonda) Gebel of Eldridge; and Andrew (Kelley) Gebel of Davis Junction; 13 grandchildren, Matthew, Danielle and Jessica Winter; Kara (Gebel) Padilla, Tyler Gebel, Anne and Rachel Winston; Jason, Nathan and Christopher Allen; and Jonathan, Lillie and Kelvin Gebel; two great-granddaughters, Vera Winter and Palmer Allen; a sister, Barb (Jerry) O'Donnell of Cresco; a brother, Dan (Dorothy) Gebel of Clear Lake; three sisters-in-law, Marcy Gebel of Mason City; Marge Haugen of Clear Lake; and Elaine (Mike) Farrington of Elma; and numerous nieces, nephews and loving family members of the Gebel and Wacha Families.

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  4. Deepest condolences to the entire Gebel family. Tom was always up for a good chat each time I was able to see him. A truly nice man.

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  10. My prayers and sympathies to Tom’s families. I always enjoyed visiting with Tom at Sara Lee and if we met while he was reading the meter. Rest In Peace Tom🙏 You’ll be missed.

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  45. Sympathy Marian to you and your family. I wish we weren’t so far away but we keep you in our prayers🙏🏻🙏🏻

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  51. We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ Conway-Markham Funeral Home – New Hampton

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  62. RIP Tom. Sympathy and prayers to Marian and family. Tom and Marian were one of the first to move to our neighborhood. Dave and Kay Rasmussen

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  69. Tom was one of the good guys with whom I always enjoyed conversation. We did not see each other frequently due to the geographical distances between us. Some of our first meetings date to the late 1940s. Later meetings were all during my visits to Chickasaw County, and he was generally one of the first that I contacted to arrange a get-together. Goodbye Tom; you are already missed! Tom Weitzel

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  70. We are so very saddened with the loss of a dear friend. We were lucky to live so very close to the Gebels. It was not uncommon to walk across the back yard, enjoy a beverage and play cards. Just one of our many memories. Our deepest sympathies to the entire family. Dayton Annette family.

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  73. Prayers and thoughts of sympathy to the Gebel Family …..always enjoyed visiting with Tom …. Rest In Peace Tom , Kevin Linda Roths

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  75. Tom was a good friend going back to hi-school days, where our schools competed with each other in basketball and baseball. He at Alta vista, and I at Elma I. C. His brother, Jim, was my Best Man at our Wedding. I always enjoyed the company of all the Gebel brothers, and their cousin Dick. As I am in Arizona for another few week, I will not be able to attend the service, but Tom and his Family will be in my prayers. Bob Fogarty, West Des Moines

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  76. Tom, the girls will miss you coming over talking to them while we were in the back yard in the garden. And you spoiling them with lillies.

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  77. Worked with Tom at Sara Lee. Nice guy. Bumped into him Once in awhile years later and he always took time to chat. all my sympathy.

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  78. My deepest sympathies to Marian and family everyone…Tom was one of my favorite neighbors and always was so helpful…

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  82. Dave and I are so sorry for your loss. We extend our sympathy to all the family. We will miss not running into Tom and being able to visit with him.

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  83. Our condolences and prayers to Marian and Family. Enjoyed knowing Tom over the years; dealing with Tom on the families appliances was always a pleasure for me.

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  85. Our sympathy to Marian and all of Toms family. He was always such a nice, pleasant person to visit with. So sorry for your loss.

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  89. Sending our deepest sympathy with love prayers and peace. God Bless You All during your time of sorrow. The Phyllis Barshinger Family

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  91. Deb and family, You are all in our thoughts and prayers! Sending you all our love and lots of hugs! Love, Your Growing with Grace family

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  92. Gods peace and comfort in your time of sorrow. Thinking of your family.

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  93. Marian, Deb, Tim, Terri, Mike, Andy, and The Entire Gebel Family, We are very sad to learn of the passing of Tom. Please accept our deepest and sincere condolences. You all will be in our daily thoughts and prayers. Tommy G was a great person. We were lucky enough to have some fun times with him over the years. Even on a few occasions we were able to beat him at a game of Euchreof course always under protest! Fantastic memories on the Golf Course at the Annual Oneil Oney Open. The banter between all of us was comical. Im smiling as I type. And who could forget how he referred to me (Bobby)we will leave it at that!! You will be missed Tommy G! Please let us know if we can help out with anything at all. We are hear for All of you. God Bless. Love, The Pilons (Bobby, Shelly Rae, Allison Rae, Ayden Lawrence, Cameron Andrew, Lola, Dixie) XXOOXOXOXOXs!!!! LeCalire, IA

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