Gert Gehlhaar

1940 - 2021

Gert Ulrich Gehlhaar

1940 - 2021

Gert Ulrich Gehlhaar (Major, USAF, retired), 81, passed away peacefully on November 23, 2021 in Cameron Park, California. Gert was a United States Air Force veteran who continued to serve the Air Force for another 20 years as a civilian employee after retiring from active duty.

Gert was born on May 11, 1940 in Kassel, Germany to his parents Heinz and Gisela Gehlhaar. In 1953 Gert moved with his family to Alamogordo, NM, where his father worked at Holloman AFB. Gert went on to study math at Santa Barbara City College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, graduating in 1964.

When he was 25, Gert joined the United States Air Force as a data automation officer and was stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. In 1968 he met and married his wife, Joyce Elaine Gehlhaar (Dillon). After many moves with the Air Force, they welcomed the birth of daughter Heidi in 1978 at Andrews AFB in Maryland. Gert, Joyce, and Heidi eventually settled in Lompoc, California in 1981 where Gert worked as both an Air Force officer and a civilian at Vandenberg AFB until his retirement in 2004. In 2019, Gert and Joyce moved to El Dorado Hills, CA.

When Gert wasn't working, he had a passion for restoring antique cars. He loved tinkering and improving cars, and especially loved connecting with other car enthusiasts. Gert also enjoyed traveling and riding steam trains along the way.

Gert was an accomplished computer systems engineer, a lifelong car enthusiast, a loving father and husband, and an honorable veteran. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; his daughter and her husband, Heidi and Michael; his grandchildren, Annika and Cyrus; and his brother, Heinz. Gert is preceded in death by his parents, Heinz and Gisela, and his brother Rolf.

Gert will be honored with a memorial service in early 2022 at Green Valley Mortuary & Cemetery in Rescue, CA. Please contact Heidi for details at heidi.oriol@gmail.com. The family welcomes any and all stories, photos, and memories that Gert's friends, family, and colleagues would like to offer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento at calautomuseum.org/donate.