Barbara A. Gehant
Born: March 26, 1938 in West Brooklyn IL
Died: April 2, 2023 in Mendota, IL
Barbara A. Gehant, 85 of Mendota passed away peacefully April 2, 2023 at Stonecroft Village, Mendota, Il surrounded by her loving family. Private family services will be held Sunday April 16 with visitation at 10am and services lead by Linda Dinges at 11am all in Wasmer Funeral Home, Mendota. A private burial of ashes will be at the family homestead in rural West Brooklyn, Il.
Barbara was born March 26, 1938 in Lee Center Township, Lee County Illinois to Clarence and Evelyn (Chaon) Montavon. She graduated from Lee Center High School where she was the senior prom queen and class president. Barb met her future husband, Ray Gehant at church and they were married on July 21, 1956. They celebrated 52 years of marriage before his passing in 2008.
After raising seven children in West Brooklyn, Barbara went to work for the Richardson Wildlife Foundation, formerly the Richardson Hunt Club as social and dining director. Barb and Ray loved camping and spent many summers at the Green River Oaks Campground. They often camped at the Sandwich Fair with friends and family.
Barb enjoyed festive decorating for every holiday. She loved going to garage sales and shopping at thrift stores-her favorites were Nightengales and PADS. She enjoyed baking and her famous "brooklyn brownies" were always a favorite at holidays and picnics. More than anything she treasured and loved her children and their families. After retirement, Barb and Ray moved to DeBary, FL where they made lots of new friends. She continued her festive decorating by turning their golf cart into a moving holiday on wheels. Many times she won 1st place ribbon for best decorated. Barb was a proud member of the Red Hat Society and always loved wearing hats to complement her bright and fun outfits. After Ray's passing, Barb moved back to Mendota and bought a house across the street from her daughter. She loved to tell her friends that she lived on the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival parade route. She enjoyed many train rides to Chicago with her daughters to see musicals and holiday lights. In 2018 she moved to Stonecroft Village where she made many new friends and met old acquaintances. She was fondly called the Mayor of Stonecroft because of her friendly personality and genuine manner. She was always happy, had the biggest heart, and a beautiful smile on her face. She made it a priority to personally greet and welcome new residents so they were comfortable in their new home. The staff at Stonecroft truly adored her because of her great attitude and cheerful self. Barb loved traveling to her daughter's home in Louisville, KY where they cooked and baked many new recipes. She also loved to take road trips to Woodhaven Lakes where they would see and count the deer, wild turkeys and other wildlife. The excursions would always be followed by dinner at one of her favorite places: the Beaver Dam, Long Branch, Ziggies or McDonalds. Barb had just celebrated her 85th birthday with family and friends at a party at Stonecroft Village. She left this legacy to all who knew her: Love big and no judgment.
Barbara will be sadly and forever missed by her seven children Kim (Gary Metzen) Pohl of Mendota, Julie (Jeff) Sloan of Peru, Nick (Natalie) Gehant of Compton, Curt Gehant of Spring Valley, Linda (Mike) Osborne of Louisville, KY, Dennis Gehant of Amboy and Pamela (Greg) Smith of Naperville. She was blessed with nine grandchildren: Korey (Donna Chu) Kromm, Tod (Jill) Sloan, Hilary (Bill) Krol, Cody Gehant, Lilly Gehant, Adam Gehant, Libby (Brett) Gustafson, Sydney (Jaylen Lockhart) Rehm and Patrick Rehm. She was extra blessed with five great grandchildren: Jax and Rory Sloan, Isaac and Fallon Gehant, Jeffrey Krol and an additional baby Lockhart on the way, a brother Gene (Sandy) Montavon of Deland, FL and a sister Alice Delhotal of Escondido, CA., sisters-in-law Karen (Melvin) Delhotal, Susan (Larry) Eddy, Patty (Terry) Moyer, Kathy (Tim) Burkardt, Sherrie (John) Jacobs, and brother-in-law Mike (Colleen) Gehant. Barb is also survived by many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Raymond, her parents Clarence and Evie Montavon, her mother and father-in-law Raymond (Anna Mae) Gehant Sr., sister and brother-in-law Lois and (Ken "Peany") Bruce, brother -in-law Wally Delhotal, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Don (Tonna) Gehant, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Janet (Jerry) Hornung, and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Marylou (Jerry) Reeser.
Memorials may be made to Mendota Area Senior Services (MASS) or donor's choice. Online condolences may be left at wasmerfuneralhome.com.