Erwin Henry Geresbeck

On Monday, December 2, 2024, Erwin Henry Geresbeck of Pasadena, MD passed away at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland with family by his side. Beloved husband of the late Evelyn Henrietta Geresbeck (nee Kannenberg); loving father of Charlene Evelyn Geresbeck; loving father-in-law of Robert James Connolly; loving brother-in-law of the late: Martha Lubunyz, Margaret Walters, Karl Kannenberg and Emil Kannenberg; loving cousin of the late Gisela Harrison and Elizabeth Clark. He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and friends. Mr. Geresbeck was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Elsie Geresbeck and his sister Marge Geresbeck. 

 Family and friends are invited to gather for viewings at the Singleton Funeral & Cremation Services, PA, 1 2nd Avenue, S.W., Glen Burnie MD 21061 on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 from 6pm to 8pm and Thursday, December 19, 2024 from 2pm to 4pm. 

 Family and friends are also invited to gather for a final viewing on Friday, December 20, 2024, at Galilee Lutheran Church, 4652 Mountain Road, Pasadena, MD 21122 from 11:00am to 12:00pm followed by the funeral service given by the Pastor Matthew Hilpert of Galilee: During the church service Erwin, a Veteran of World War 2, will receive Military Honors from the American Legion Post 175 from Severna Park, MD. Following the church service, there will be a procession to Meadowridge Memorial Cemetery in Elkridge, MD where the Pastor Matthew Hilpert of Galilee will give the final burial service. During to the burial service, Erwin, a Veteran of World War 2, will receive Military Honors from the Maryland National Guard. Following the burial service, there will be a luncheon back at Galilee Lutheran Church.

 Erwin was born in Baltimore, Maryland as the son of Elsie Geresbeck and Henry Geresbeck who both immigrated from Germany during the German Depression following World War 1 and shortly thereafter became U.S. Citizens. Following his birth in Baltimore, Erwin moved with his parents to Chestertown Maryland where he spent his childhood years with his younger sister Marge and his best friend James Todd and grew up in small town America on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Erwin’s parents, Elsie and Henry Geresbeck, owned and operated Chestertown’s main bakery on High Street, across the street from Fountain Park in the very center of Chestertown.

 Following the death of his sister, Marge Geresbeck, and toward the ending of the Great Depression, Erwin moved with his parents to Essex, Maryland where his parents opened, owned and operated a brand-new bakery on Eastern Avenue. Erwin spent his teen years working hard with his parents in this new bakeshop: it was such a successful business that on Sundays after church customers would line up inside the bakery up and down the aisles, out the door, and around the block for the homemade french pastries, scrumptious cakes, breads and homemade ice cream made with fresh peaches in it. 

 One block away from the bakeshop was the home of young Evelyn Henrietta Kannenberg, Erwin’s future beloved wife of 52 years who passed away on February 2, 2006. Both Erwin and Evelyn were confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Essex by Reverend Leo Tecklenberg, married in same church by same minister, and their daughter Charlene was baptized and confirmed in same church by same minister. 

 At the objection of his parents who deeply relied on and needed his help at the very busy bakeshop, Erwin was drafted into World War 2 at the age of 17. Unknowing of its purpose, the army gave all recruits including Erwin an IQ test. Erwin had such high scores on the test that the army immediately put him into intelligence where he would be located behind enemy lines in Japan. On his way to Japan, President Harry Truman bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Erwin was then sent to Germany where he was in charge of a prisoner of war camp composed of high-ranking German Officers: the mission for the camp was to cut down trees in the forest for lumber and to rebuild Germany after the war. One of the highest German officers in the camp took such a liking for Erwin that, during his off hours, he hand-painted for him a beautiful wise owl perched in a tree. That painting still exists in Erwin’s home where, at almost 98 years old (and with help from his family and Synergy in Annapolis), he still lived independently until right before his passing.

 Following his military service, Erwin became employed at the U.S. Postal Service where he retired in the late 1980’s. During the early years of his employment with the U.S. Post Office, Erwin continued to help his parents with their new business: after retiring from the bakery, Erwin’s parents purchased 10 acres on Middle River in Bowley’s Quarters containing a huge plantation type house from the 1800’s. After decades of neglect and in complete disarray, on days off from the Post Office Erwin helped his father gut the upstairs of the old mansion where he helped him build individual apartments. The first floor was refinished as it was originally in the 1800’s. Following this, Erwin helped in the building of the separate indoor dance hall and the outside dance pavilion. At that point his father hired workers who then moved into, and lived in, the apartments in the upstairs of the old mansion and, along with Erwin’s parents and Erwin himself, they hosted and catered large weddings, celebrations, Knights of Columbus gatherings, and conventions. During those years Erwin, who like his father loved swimming, passed the YMCA exams and became the lifeguard on the beach at his parent’s new business where, on many Sundays in the summertime, people from all over Baltimore County and Maryland would bring their families and come to picnic, swim, eat good food including steamed crabs, dance to live bands playing in the outside pavilion, and the children would be amused by Bozo the Clown, an absolutely huge candy store which Erwin’s mother managed on the premises that also had toys, and a wonderful playground with swing sets. 

 Erwin and his beloved wife Evelyn celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on May 8, 2004 by renewing their wedding vows at the Gazebo overlooking the beautiful Severn River at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis Maryland with the Reverend Henry A. Simon of Galilee Lutheran Church doing the service. Over 100 family and friends attended the service then walked to the catering hall at Quiet Waters Park where an authentic Cajun Zydeco Band from Louisiana that Dad had hired for this occasion had everybody dancing.

 Erwin had always said that the best thing in life is music and Erwin had great taste in music. Erwin and his beloved wife Evelyn spent their young years, with lots of family joining them, in dancing waltzes, tangos, rhumbas, fox trots, polkas and lots of other dances I don’t know the names of. They did it all and they loved music and dancing throughout their entire lives. Following Evelyn’s passing in 2006, Erwin took computer courses at the age of 80, bought a computer and handpicked his favorite Top-40 songs and put them on his YouTube Station. His favorite song of all time was: “The Prayer” by Andrea Bocelli & Céline Dion and every time he played it right up till the end of his life, tears would well up in his eyes from the beauty of that song.

 During their married years Erwin and Evelyn loved to travel and they travelled to Europe, Vancouver Island and British Columbia where they drove through the Canadian Rockies, a trip to Hawaii as well as a cruise on the St. Lawrence River and a stay in Quebec. With their daughter Charlene, Erwin and Evelyn toured the entire western United States for a month long vacation seeing all the National Parks in the 1970’s, spent two weeks in Nova Scotia where they saw the Antigonish Highland Games where hundreds of bagpipe bands from Scotland, Ireland, the U.K. and Canada competed in their once per year competition, many years they visited Erwin’s mom who lived in Hollywood Florida following the death of Erwin’s father, as well as going on many wonderful and memorable vacations in Ocean City, Maryland with Evelyn’s sister Margaret and brother-in-law Norman and their daughter’s family. They also travelled to many other places along the east coast of the U.S. 

 Erwin and his wife Evelyn loved fishing in the Chesapeake Bay where Erwin would gut the fish after returning home and Evelyn would cook them up in the frying pan. Erwin also loved ice skating with Charlene on Middle River in the 1960’s when winters were actually cold and later on Rock Creek in Pasadena after moving in the 1970’s to Anne Arundel County.

 After the passing of Evelyn, Erwin continued to travel with his daughter Charlene and son-in-law Robert Connolly on vacations to Acadia National Park in Maine, Lake Placid in New York State, Vermont, New Hampshire, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard MA, Disney World and Sanibel Island in Florida, Montauk at the end of Long Island New York, the outer banks of North Carolina, western North Carolina to Asheville and Grandfather Mountain, the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, Murtle Beach South Carolina, and local beaches in Delaware and Ocean City MD.

 Just shy of 98 years old, Erwin never stopped loving life and was always ready for a new adventure. His mind was clear as a bell right up till death. He was always eager to attend musical performances at theatres and take day trips to Longwood Gardens in PA and just a year ago eagerly joined Charlene, Robert and his niece Linda to a day in Harper’s Ferry where a National Park Ranger gave us a tour as well as the full history of that town and adjacent battle fields.

 Erwin loved history, paleoanthropology and geography. He was an avid reader his entire life and knew things most people would have to look up. He had a subscription to National Geographic and read each published version from front page to back. He read the newspaper every day from front page to back even, correctly and completely, filling out all the crossword puzzles. And no matter how hard his daughter, from childhood onward, tried to beat him in Chess and Checkers, she could never beat him. Sundays were family movie nights where Erwin, Rob and Charlene would take turns every Sunday picking a good movie; Erwin who was absolutely fascinated by paleoanthropology and science would always choose documentaries on these subjects. Erwin was also an enthusiastic fan of the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens and loved attending games at Orioles Park in Baltimore on many Father’s Days with Robert and Charlene.

Erwin cared deeply about the environment, wildlife and marine life. Going back all the way to the 1960’s when no one had heard of recycling, on his day off from work at the U.S. Postal Service, Erwin would neatly tie up all the newspapers and magazines he read daily and once per month drive to the only location in Maryland that did recycling at that time in the middle of Baltimore City. Erwin also volunteered for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and did the chemical tests along Rock Creek to test the amount of oxygen, etc., in its waters; once per month, on his day off from work, he would take the results of these tests to the Annapolis Library where his results were submitted.

 Erwin was loved by everyone who met him. He was bright, happy, intelligent and a total joy to be with. He was a wonderful father who was always there with welcome hands, always reliable, always dependable and always there with his love. Our hearts break at losing him and the world will never seem the same without his presence.