Barbara Jean Haverstock, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

By December 5, 2016Obituaries

OTTAWA — Barbara Jean Haverstock died Tuesday, Nov. 22, at the Hills of Cumberland Village in Aiken, S.C.

Bobbie, as she was known, was born Oct. 29, 1921, in Ogden, Utah, to parents Frank Yentzer and Helen (Hulse) Geschwind.

She graduated from Ottawa High School in 1939. She attended Christian College in Columbia, Mo.

She married John Frederick “Fritz” Gerding in January 1942. During World War II, they lived in Fresno and Sacramento, Calif., and Kingman, Ariz. They had two children, John and Nicola.

They returned to Ottawa in 1945, where she lived for the next 50 years. In January 1956, she married William Haverstock. They had one daughter, Susan. Together they owned the Steak House restaurant. In 1995, Bobbie moved to Augusta, Ga.

She is survived by her daughters, Susan Haverstock, of Aiken, S.C., and Nicola Stanke, of Kansas City, Mo.; her sister, Patricia Gerding, of Naples, Fla., and Ottawa; and three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A reflection on Bobbie’s life will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Oakwood Memorial Park, Shrine of Rest Mausoleum,Chapel of the Good Shepard.

To commemorate her love of reading, she requested that memorials in her name be sent to the Reddick Library, 1010 Canal St., Ottawa, IL 61350.

Bobbie has been laid to rest in the Shrine of Rest Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Hope.