Lorraine Grace (Kirchoff) Gaestel

Lorraine Grace (Kirchoff) Gaestel, 78, Allouez, was peacefully welcomed into eternal life by her Lord Jesus on Monday, April 25, 2011. She was born September 6, 1932 in Manitowoc, WI to Henry and Elva (Tomaschefsky) Kirchoff. Lorraine married Arnold Gaestel on June 26, 1954 in Manitowoc at the First German Evangelical Lutheran Church. Lorraine was a graduate of the Lincoln High School class of 1951. She worked at the Mirro Company in Manitowoc and later at A.C. Nielson in Green Bay. First and foremost, Lorraine was a loving and devoted wife to Arnie, her husband of 56 years. She gave her love and talents selflessly to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, other family and friends. She was an active member of Faith Lutheran Church of Allouez as a Sunday School teacher, and was active in various church committees. Lorraine was a member of the PTA at Webster and Allouez Schools, a Girl Scout Leader, Cadet Leader and Cookie Chair. Lorraine took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Greece, and Turkey, with Pastor J. Robert Koch and her Faith Lutheran Church family. Survivors include her husband, Arnold; 4 children: Hope (Paul Piper) Gaestel-Piper of Menomonee Falls, WI, Kim (Bruce) Jaeger of De Pere, Mike (Vicci) Gaestel of Bellevue, and David Gaestel of Green Bay; 8 grandchildren: April (Brian) Koepp of Green Bay, Aaron Selner of Green Bay, Stefanie (David) Clark of Bentonville, AR, Cassandra Gaestel of Green Bay, Alecia Gaestel of Green Bay, Alex Piper of Menomonee Falls, WI, and Ben Daniels, Zachary Gaestel, Will Daniels, and Lindsey Gaestel all of Green Bay; 4 great-grandchildren: Emily and Greggory Koepp, Dylan Roberts and Ryan Clark; a brother, Henry (Roberta “Bobbie”) Kirchoff, Jr. of Green Bay; a sister, Helen (Sy) Diedrich of Manitowoc, WI; brothers-in-law: George Gaestel of Manitowoc, WI and Melvin (Karen) Gaestel of Lakewood, WI; sisters-in-law, Sylvia Eberhardt of Lake Placid, FL and Caroline Schwalbe of Manitowoc, WI; and nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Elva Kirchoff; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Arnold and Olga (Stephani) Gaestel, daughter-in-law, Debbie Gaestel; brothers-in-law, Earl Schwalbe and Al Eberhardt; sister-in-law, Althea Gaestel; her favorite uncle, Gustav Tomaschefsky; and 2 grandchildren, Nicholas Piper and Nicole Piper. Funeral services will be held Friday, April 29, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 2335 S. Webster Avenue, Allouez, with Pastor J. Robert Koch officiating. Friends may call at the church on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until time of the service. Entombment will take place in Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum. Cotter Funeral Home is assisting the family with funeral arrangements. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.cotterfuneralhome.com. Special thanks to the nurses at St. Vincent’s 9th floor and Emergency Room, the staff at Woodside Lutheran Rehabilitation Center, and to Lorraine and Arnie’s neighbors.