Gordon Lehrke

Gordon "Concertina Gordy" William Lehrke, 80, of Brainerd, passed away Sunday, September 12, 2010 at Bethany Good Samaritan Village. Services for Gordy will be held at 10:00 AM, Friday, September 17 at the Brenny Funeral Chapel in Baxter. Friends and family are welcome to gather Thursday evening from 5-9 PM and one hour prior to services on Friday. A reception will follow services at Brenny's Reception Room. Interment with Military Honors will be held at Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery near Camp Ripley.

Gordy was born November 29, 1929, in Swanville, MN, the son of Carl Frederick and Anna (Getzkon) Lehrke. He enlisted in the US Army in 1954 and served for two years, in Fort Hood, TX as a Tank Commander. In 1955, he was united in marriage to Margaret Mary Prokott. He worked as a sheet metal foreman for many years at Ammerman Company in Stillwater and later at Clow Stamping in Merrifield. In addition to his work as a foreman, the couple enjoyed owning Shing Wako Resort from 1977-1979. Gordy was an accomplished musician and taught concertina to over 100 students. For over 55 years he played in a number of bands and was inducted into the World Concertina Hall of Fame in 1997.

Gordy will be missed by his wife, Margaret; his children, Greg (Pauline) Lehrke, of Evansville, Karen (Geoff) Gihle, of Phoenix, AZ, Jeff Lehrke, of Brainerd, Bruce (Bev) Lehrke, of Pine River, and Paula (Mike) Cotten, of Baxter; siblings, Glen (June) Lehrke, of Zephyr Hills, FL, Elmer (Jean) Lehrke, of Sunbury, OH, and Alice (Steve) Pulka, of Iron Mountain, MI; grandchildren, Jeremy Lehrke, Shane Gihle, Jason Gihle, Josh Gihle, Charles Cooley (Lehrke), Sara and Anna Gardner; great-grandchildren, Sean Gihle, Gunnar and Gordon Lehrke; and many step-grandchildren, and step-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Raymond, Ivaline, Mildred, Carl, and Tina.