Gerry Bakels

Our dear father, husband, brother, uncle, son, Gerry Bakels, moved peacefully into the arms of God on September 4th with his beloved wife Nell by his side. He leaves a legacy of deep faith in God, a life of great integrity, playful happiness, and a beautiful voice full of songs and stories. Gerry (Geert) was from the Netherlands, but was was born on a ship in a canal in Schoonaarde, Belgium, as he liked to tell us.

He proudly immigrated to the US in 1962 with his young family, having been sponsored by the First Christian Reformed Church in SLC. The CRC was like a second family and a great part of life and faith for the whole Bakels family. He worked as a Master Electrician, a job he loved, but was a jack of all trades.

He and Nell moved to Mesquite, Nevada after retirement. It is so hard to sum up our father’s life and to cover the facets of our relationships so we will not try to do that here. What we will do is to talk about the man we knew and how we feel having been honored to have him in our lives. One of Gerry’s children said that she read, "a child who has a loving father has a much easier time believing in the existence of God." Dad was a loving father and instilled in us his faith by his actions and words. Dad worked hard and gave us all a great work ethic. Dad’s music and voice filled our home with inspiration and joy. He taught life lessons and told inspirational stories of his childhood.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Nell Bakels; daughter Elizabeth Gould (husband Bryan, children: Walter, Charles, Robert, Elizabeth); Marijke Rossi (husband Alex, Children: Lynda, Jeff, Jenn, Maddy); Laura Thomsin (husband Eric, children: Kate, Anika); Renae Curtz (husband Mark, children: Nicole, Lauren, Ryan); Jerry Bakels (wife Ania, children: Julia, Serena); Gerry has eight great grandchildren. Five brothers and two sisters, living in The Netherlands.

We are so grateful for the Mesa View Hospital and Hospice teams who made dad’s last days easier. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on their guest book at www.virginvalleymortuary.com.

Als je je voet op de andere oever zet en het
blijkt de hemel te zyn.

Als je dan door een hand wordt
aangeraakt en het blijk Gods
hand te zyn.

Als je dan muziek hoort en het blyken
engelen te zyn

dan ben je niet heengegaan, maar naar
huis gegaan.

If you put your foot on the other bank
and it turns out to be heaven.

If you are touched by a hand and it
turns out to be God’s hand.

If you then hear music and it turns
out to be angels,

you have not gone, but left for home.