Arta R. Gerhard

Arta R. GERHARD Arta R. Gerhard of Milton, Washington, was born on October 29, 1919, in Lebanon, OR, and died on February 27, 2011, in Mount Vernon, WA. She had a happy marriage of 59 years. She and her husband raised four children and had 11 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. The central focus of Arta's life was her family. In 1993, Arta began sewing and knitting for charity. She knitted over 1200 stocking caps that were given out by the Des Moines food bank, pieced 102 quilt tops for her church, sewed over 2500 children's garments that were given out through the food bank and sent to missions around the world, and knitted 1,747 baby hats for St. Francis Hospital. Helping others gave her a reason to get up each morning. Arta was loved and is greatly missed by her surviving sister, Emogene Lortie of Maple Valley; sons Gary Gerhard of Redding, CA, and Daniel Gerhard of Mount Vernon, WA; daughters Molly Gerhard of Federal Way, WA, and Nancy Cooper of Union, WA; and their spouses, children, and grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to your local food bank.