Lewis Gomer
August 26, 1934 ~ December 19, 2014
Lewis Gomer, 80, of Faulkton was welcomed home by God, Friday, December 19, 2014 at his home in Maple Grove, MN.
Memorial services were held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 31, 2015 at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Faulkton with Pastor Tom Reagan presiding. Burial followed in the Faulkton Cemetery.
Lewis Eugene Gomer was born on August 26, 1934, to August and Henrietta (DeVries) Gomer on a farm near Brooten, MN. After graduation from the Brooten High School, he attended Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. There he met his wife, Mary (Biel). They were married August 11, 1957. Lew started his career in education in 1957. Lew’s career totaled 43 years in education with 37 of those years in school administration.
The Gomer family arrived in Faulkton, SD, with their four children in 1977. The community has provided an exemplary environment for social and spiritual growth. Lew participated in many civic organizations such as the Lion’s Club and The Thrivent Chapter.
He was president of the South Dakota Superintendent’s Association from 1982-1983. Lew was given the honor of membership in the Beadle Club of the South Dakota Educators.
Lew also was business manager of the family business, VoWac Publishing Company.
In 2010, Lew and Mary moved to Arbor Lakes Senior Living in Maple Grove, MN, where they have been blessed to find another place to call home. Lew will always be remembered for his love of sports. Lew loved humor and entertained many with his stories, cartoons, and wit. His sense of humor brightened the day of everyone he met.
Lew is survived by his wife and educational ally, Mary; son Greg and wife Ann of Minneapolis MN, son Gary and wife Melissa of Concord Ohio, daughter Sandy and husband Thomas Reagan of Blackduck MN, and daughter Julie of Maple Grove; Grandchildren: Shanna (Maurice) Blankenship, Cari Gomer, Michael Gomer, Ethan Gomer, Rachel (Garret) Schwinghammer, Timothy Reagan, Benjamin Reagan, Jamie Melius, Spencer Melius, and Siara Melius; Great grandchildren: Tre’, Jamarian, Zaida, and Zaryah Blankenship, and Esther Schwinghammer.
Lew was preceded in death by his parents, Henrietta and August Gomer, four brothers: Willard, Robert, James, and August; three sisters: June, Audrey, and Carole.
Lew was a wonderful husband, father, and friend. He will be greatly missed.
Luce Funeral Home of Faulkton has been entrusted with Lew’s arrangements.
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Bill and I send condolences. Bill thought so much of Lewis and enjoyed his visits to our home in Faulkton, SD. Mary you have our deepest symphanthy.
Bill & Char
Mary, Greg, Gary, Sandy, Julie and families. We send our deepest sympathy with Lew’s passing. We have fond memories of your time in Faulkton, attending baseball games, Lions club gatherings and of course, Lew, who was always ready with a joke! We were just reminiscing the other day at our Lions meeting about the time the Gomer’s dog ate their neighbor’s turkey at Thanksgiving! Remember that? So many memories. Please know that you are all in our prayers. We will not be able to attend Lew’s memorial service as we are out of town, but we will be thinking of you. God bless you all.
Randy and I are sorry to hear of the passing of Lew. We always enjoyed visiting with him and his Vikings- even though we are avid Packers fans, Ha Ha! I enjoyed working with him during the time of VoWac and
afterwords. You both have become very special to us. Lew was such a courageous person to go through
all that he did. We know that Lew is up there with God and all the angels, still cheering in his Vikings to win that "Super Bowl" He was such a loving husband and father he will be missed by many. We have so many memories of Lew. That is one thing that even death can’t take away. Our thoughts and prayers are with the whole family at this time. It is always harder to lose a loved one at Christmas, as I can fully attest to that. But we also know that God is always there, walking us through these times and will never leave us!
He is the one constant in our lives, and I always say this isn’t our home, we are just passing through this world until we are home where we belong for eternity. Now Lew is at home for eternity! May God Bless You All! If there is anything Randy & I can do please let us know! Randy and Sherry
So sorry to hear of Lew"s passing. He was an inspiration to many people with heart problems including Ed. You and your family have our sincere sympathy at this difficult time.
We send our love, prayers, and sympathy. Sorry we cannot attend the service but we will be there in spirit. We do have fond memories of time in Faulkton. It was fun being your "secret sender." Jean and Richard
Dear family,
Lew will be missed by many in the field of education who knew him well. I will especially miss his visits in the fall and spring when he would pop in to the office just to make sure everything was going well in the building. He had a winning smile, a great attitude and a tremendous sense of humor.
I’m sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences.
Dallas
Mary, Greg, Gary, Sandy and Julie and all of Lew’s family:
We are so sorry to hear of the death of Lew. Although we know he know longer suffers and is at peace, it is difficult for the family left behind, especially this time of the year. May our prayers bring you comfort and peace. In Sympathy, Jeff and JoDee Bryant
Dear Mary & family,
So sorry to hear of Lew’s passing. I lost Gene just over a year ago, so know a bit of what you’re going through. My thoughts and prayers are with you in these difficult days.
Sharon Wahl
I had the pleasure of working with Lou while teaching and coaching at Centerville, South Dakota. He was very dedicated to the profession of education. He always wanted what was best for the students and athletes. He had a good sense of humor which was much appreciated and many days in the world of education, it was not only appreciated by needed. He was a good man who set and outstanding example for others to follow. I am thankful for all that I learned from him about being a positive educator.
I have many great memories of Lew. Even as time went by and distances grew farther apart, Lew always went out of his way to say hi and see how things were going. Great role model. RIP
Mary,
Our sincere sympathy to you and your family upon the loss of your loved one.
We go back a long time, when Larry and Lou became friends at the creamery in Lake Norden SD
Hunted deer, and you and I went to the snow queen contests, before you moved to Faulkton.
So many pictures and memories of the times.
God bless and comfort you and your loved ones.
Our love is with you. Larry & Ruth
Mary, I was sorry to read of your husband’s death this week. Since my Christmas letter was returned a few years ago I lost track of you and did not realize you were located in MN. It is wonderful that you are near some of your children during this very difficult time.
Lewis’ career in education is impressive. As a couple you dedicated many years to the community of Faulkton. Because of your development of VOWAC many of us around the US benefited in our classrooms. Thank you.
My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. Carolyn Palmer
My condolences to the Gomer family at this difficult time. Thoughts & prayers to all of you�
Sympathy to all the family. I taught the VoWac program for many years and attended several workshops by the Gomers.
Mary, Greg, Gary, Sandy, and Julie and families, I offer my most sincerest sympathies to you at this time. I have so many nice memories of your family, and school day, and also serving on the Polo School Board with Lew. I am so glad that I really got to know him, and I always enjoyed and admired him. He will be missed. I am very sorry that I am not able to attend his service due to work obligations, but just know that my heart is there with you all, and that his earthly presence will be very missed, but I know that he is truly "Home" now with our Lord! May he uplift you during this diffucult time! Sending hugs and prayers!
Deb {Schilder} Wilson
Our sincere sympathy to Lew’s Family. Lew was our teacher, coach and mentor during their stay in Centerville, SD. We will always remember Lew (and Mary) serving as sponsors for our Luther League. This was always something that was important to us and went the "extra mile".
We are sorry to hear about the passing of your loved one. Words don’t always ease the pain when you are grieving the death of a loved one, but we hope you will find hope in Jesus’ promise of the redirection hope (Acts 24:14) when he will rise up tho sleeping in death (John 11:11) restoring them back to life, on the renewed paradise( John 5:28,29; Luke 24:43) what a wonderful blessing to look forward too. Until then, may Jehovah God (Psalms 83:18) grant you peace and comfort during this grievous time. – Matthew 5:4. 5
Lew was a special friend in our years of education in South Dakota and also the times we shared in MN. We will miss smiling face and the many jokes he told. Our sincere sympathy to Mary and the rest of the family.
Dear Mary & family,
Thinking of you at this difficult time. Lew and I go way back to 1971 when we worked together in Garretson, SD. We stayed in close contact with each other even though we were many miles apart at times. So many trips, football games – dog track -etc. It’s really hard to lose a true friend like Lew.
With sympathy…..Lyle & Marilyn Engel
Mary and family, we are so sorry to hear of Lew’s passing. He was a wonderful neighbor and we missed you both when you moved to Minnesota. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. God bless, Jim & Ellen
she looked ptrety, she wanted to look very ptrety for her uncle Donald when she told him bye so he could go to heaven.Your an amazing person, and the kids and I was blessed to have you in our lives, you may know this now but you are truly missed! Love your neice Sandra, (great) neice Adelene and (great)nephew Gabryel Wood.