Walter Carl Gaibler

Walter Carl Gaibler Walter Carl Gaibler was born to John and Amalia Gaibler at the family homestead near Eustis Nebraska on May 2, 1916. He was baptized as a child and confirmed into the Lutheran Church on May 25th, 1930. The same year he graduated from the 8th grade, he took on the role as the lead teamster for the family ranch caring for up to 30 head of draft and riding horses. In 1932 he moved with his family to the Willamette Valley. He soon found work on farms and ranches. He met and courted Lois Ella Brandt and married her on July 27, 1940. They moved to Helix, Oregon, where he worked on the Biscotti wheat ranch. There they made life long friends. Anticipating being drafted, Walt moved the new family back to the Fernwood area where Lois would have the support of nearby family. He was drafted into the Army, but during boot camp he lost his hearing and was honorably discharged. He worked as a welder in the Portland ship yards in WW II during the day and farmed at night. Many years later, the blessing of modern surgery restored his hearing. After the war Walt and Lois moved to a farm in the Fernwood area. Walt continued his lifelong career in agriculture raising livestock, grains and clover and doing custom work with his machinery for landholders in the area. He farmed large tracts of lands for others based on a handshake. Contracts were not necessary. His love of farming was always evident in the way he approached his work. He taught many of us not just how to work, but how to enjoy working. Walt continued to farm full time until the age of 76. After retirement Walt and Lois moved to a small house in town. During the years the Gaibler family grew to include daughter Dianne and son Dennis. Later their family expanded to include grandchildren, great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. The family and church were always central in their life. Walt and Lois had a commitment to each other that was special to experience. Their love for each other, their love for their family and for their Lord was an inspiration to all that knew them. They enjoyed 52 years of marriage until the Lord called her to heaven. Two years later Walt suffered the loss of his daughter, Dianne, to cancer. He was also preceded in death by his brothers Albert and Lawrence Gaibler and sisters Pauline Gruber, Amanda Peak, Tillie Gruber, Leona Cline and Alice Eberhard. In his later years Walt became an active member of the Yamhill Mounted Sheriffs Posse and also became a member of the Oregon Equestrian Trails group. His horse related activities of clearing trails, looking for lost hikers and marshalling duties at parking lots for various events, kept him pretty busy. He rode until he was 89. Walt’s last years were spent as a part of the Friendsview Manor family. After breaking his hip, he had to vacate his apt. and move downstairs into the Health Center. There the staff took wonderful care of him, but more importantly they genuinely cared for him. Walt loved to reminisce and tell stories of his life. He lived such a full life and shared his stories with the many people who came to visit him. His daughter-in-law, Kathy, said it best: “If you come to see dad, you are guaranteed to leave feeling better than you did when you came”. Walt passed away peacefully, due to natural causes and with little pain on the evening of August 21st as he was getting ready for bed. He had just finished telling a young nurse’s aide about his first date with Lois, the love of his life. Walt will truly be missed!

Walter Carl Gaibler

May 2, 1916 - August 21, 2011