James Gierke

Mr. James Alan Gierke, 64, of Sunrise Beach, Missouri formerly of Louisiana, Missouri passed away on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at the Washington Regional Hospital in Fayetteville, Arkansas after a valiant 2 month long battle against a brain aneurysm suffered in October. Jim was born in Louisiana, Missouri on January 15, 1947, the son of Victor Albert Gierke and Laura Maxwell Gierke. He was preceded in death by his father on May 27, 1996, his mother on October 24, 1999, and 2 sons, Jacob Adam Gierke on July 17, 1989, and James Christian Gierke on May 3, 2010. He is survived by one son, Brent Alan Gierke of Bentonville, Arkansas, and his wife Sue and their 3 children, Jacob, Carly, and Rachael, as well as 2 sisters, Carolyn Neunuebel and husband Paul of Huntsville, Texas, and Margaret Crawford and husband Jim of McCall, Idaho. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 24th at the Collier Funeral Home in Louisiana, Missouri. Pastor Jeffrey Dock of Trinity Lutheran Church presiding. Burial will be at the Riverview Cemetery in Louisiana, Missouri. Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Friday, December 23rd at the funeral home. Jim had been a life-long resident of Louisiana up until his retirement in 2002. He graduated from Louisiana High School in 1965 and attended Truman State University at Kirksville and the University of Missouri at Columbia. He was the former president and owner of the Louisiana Press-Journal, the Bowling Green Times, Press-Journal Printing, and weekly newspapers in Troy, Elsberry, Hermann, and New Haven. He was the founder of the Lincoln County Journal in Troy, Missouri. He was a past president of the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, the Louisiana Industrial Development Corporation, and several Missouri newspaper trade associations. He was a charter board member of the Missouri Press Foundation and a board member of the Missouri Press Association. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Columbia Missourian, the University of Missouri School of Journalism's student staffed newspaper. Jim also served on the board of directors of Mercantile Bank. He was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church. Jim was a compassionate and generous man who helped many people both in public and in private. Two of his biggest joys in life were watching his grandkids grow up and spending quality time with his son Brent on their farm in southwest Missouri. His love, laugh, and kindhearted nature will be terribly missed, but never forgotten. Honorary Pallbearers will be Jim Grimm, Phil Smith, Karl Dewey, Paul McKenna, and Bruce Griffith. Active Pallbearers will be Jerry Webster, Barry Trost, Chuck Johns, Charlie Meyer, Ken Bowser, and Mack Elliott. Memorial donations may be given to the Trinity Lutheran Church in Louisiana, Missouri or the Missouri Press Foundation in Columbia, Missouri in care of Collier Funeral Homes, Inc., 117 Barnard Drive, Louisiana, Missouri 63353. On-line condolences may be sent at collierfuneral.com.

James Gierke

January 15, 1947 - December 20, 2011