Gerald E. Pohl

Gerald Pohl, 87, of Beal City passed away Sunday, April 26, 2015, at MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland. A Funeral Mass for Gerald will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Beal City with Father Ricky Varner presiding. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery with military honors. The family will receive friends in the gathering room at St. Joseph Church on Tuesday from 2-8 p.m. with a rosary beginning at 7:30 p.m. Visitation continues at the church on Wednesday one hour prior to the Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph the Worker Church or School. Envelopes will be available at the church or at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home. Gerald was born June 25, 1927 in Beal City, son of the late Ernest A. and Martha (McGuirk) Pohl. A graduate of St. Philomena High School (Beal City) in 1945, Gerald began driving a school bus for Beal City public schools at the age of 18. In 1950 he was drafted by the U.S. Army where he also drove a bus for a military band touring Europe. He was honorably discharged in 1952 at which time he married the love of his life, Kathleen I. Schumacher on Nov. 29, 1952 at St. Philomena Church in Beal City. He purchased the family dairy farm in 1956 from his father and continued to drive school bus until his retirement in 1997 at the age of 69. He was member of St. Joseph the Worker Parish and the Beal City Knights of Columbus council 3651. He was an avid sports fan, enjoyed watching the Tigers and would often travel to watch his nephew, Dan Pohl, golf on the PGA tour. He was a great supporter of Beal City Sports and, in his honor, Beal Citys baseball field was named after him. But he was proudest to watch sporting events of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Gerald loved to farm and was meticulous in how it operated. He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humor who will be missed dearly by the students he drove for so many years, his friends, and mostly by his loving family. Gerald is survived by his wife of 62 years, Kathleen; 10 children, Gary (Lynn) Pohl of Beal City, Sue (Tom) Scully of Mt. Pleasant, Cindy (Doug) Gepford of Mt. Pleasant, Steve (Mary Schafer) Pohl of Beal City, Brenda (Rob) Brickner of Mt. Pleasant, Jane (Henry) Block of Beal City, Joyce (Richard) Hahn of Beal City, Julie (Marty) Fox of Beal City, Lori (Dave) Smalley of Grand Rapids and Bob (Jayme) Pohl of Lapeer; four siblings, Howard (Delores) Pohl, of Mt. Pleasant, Mary Bowers of Mt. Pleasant, Rosie (Dick) Smith of Augres, and Dolores (Jim) Epple of Mt. Pleasant; 27 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren with two on the way; three sisters-in-law, Laura Pohl, Ernestine Pohl, and Roselynn Pohl, all of Mt. Pleasant; brother-in-law, Harris (Mary) Diehl of Mecosta; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and siblings, Raymond Pohl, Donald Pohl, Richard Pohl, Melvin Pohl and Maxine Diehl.