View Live Webcast at www.walkersanderson.com for graveside services, Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. Memories may be shared and condolences offered to the family online at www.walkersanderson ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duane Rex Gertsch, the first child of Jeremiah Gertsch and Blodwen Marsh Thompson Gertsch, was born November 15, 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah. When Rex was 16 months old, his world changed, but was enriched by the birth of his brother Max. Together they experienced an idyllic childhood, playing and exploring in the fields and hills of beautiful Midway. They were very inventive, making "play huts", complete with entry ladders, inside the large underground hot pots by their home. Rex attended the old Midway Elementary School, where his mother was his first grade teacher. During this period of time, he became involved in baseball, playing on Little League teams for several years. When he was 11 years old, his team won their way to the Western Boys Baseball National Championship. He was able to travel with his team to California to play in the tournament games. Even though they didn't win the tournament, it was the experience of a lifetime. Junior and Senior High Schools were attended in Heber City. While in high school he loved sports and participated in track, football, basketball and baseball. It has been said that he was an amazing, all around athlete. He lettered in track as a sophomore and when a junior, he played on the team that went to the State Championship. He was a member of the Letterman's Club for both his junior and senior years. After his graduation from high school in 1968, he worked for a short time at the Mayflower Mine Company in Park City. He also attended Utah State University for one semester. During Rex's first marriage to Carol Wright, two children, Jeff and Susan, were born. With this being the Vietnam War era, Rex enlisted in the Army and completed basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington. He was then stationed in Ft. Bliss, Texas, where he was assigned to the Air Defense Artillery Batallion. Here he was trained on air defense missiles and received an Expert Rifleman Award. Luckily he was never required to served in actual combat. Following his discharge from the Army, he and Carol divorced. After returning from Texas, he moved to Salt Lake City and began working for Ceco Corporation, a large construction company. He was employed by them for more than 5 years, becoming a carpenter and helping with the construction of several large buildings in the old ZCMI Center and other locations. Rex was a very intelligent person and soon decided that he needed to further his education. In 1980, he enrolled in Utah Technical College (now UVU) to study computer programming. This was a fairly new field and he was fascinated with all the new information he was learning. He achieved an "Outstanding Student Award" and was on the Honor Roll every semester that he attended there. He graduated with an Associates Degree in 1982. He was employed at several computer companies over the next few years and then for 2-3 years he and two friends ran their own computer company. His final 11 years of employment was at Salt Lake Community College in their Human Resources Department. On January 18, 1985, Rex married Marilyn Jacob Ahlstrom. They were sealed in the Provo Temple on June 18, 1988. Together they had two sons; Justin Jeremiah and Landon Rex Gertsch. During their marriage they lived in Orem, Midway and Lehi Utah. Even after his early retirement from SLCC, Rex spent many hours learning new computer languages online. The past 7 years were difficult for Rex as his mental abilities declined due to the affects of Alzheimer's Disease. He always yearned to return to "his" beloved Midway and live his last years there. Rex slipped quietly (as was his nature) into Heaven on the morning of April 22, 2020. Rex is survived by his wife Marilyn; his children: Jeff Wade(Lisa) of Heber City, Susan Fassold(Dave) of Heber City, Justin Jeremiah Gertsch of American Fork, and Landon Rex Gertsch of Orem; his step daugthers: Andrea Clark(Stacy) of Hurricane , Nicole Boyd(Kris) of Orem, Natalie Hayes(Nathan) of Orem and Amberlyn Simister of Pleasant Grove. He is also survived by his brother Max Gertsch(Susette) of Midway. (All cities listed are in Utah) He loved his 6 grandchildren, 15 step-grandchildren and 3 step-great-grandchildren. His parents and numerous aunts and uncles preceded him in death. A viewing will be held Tuesday April 28th from 9 to 10 AM at the Walker-Sanderson Funeral Home, followed by a family graveside service at 11 AM at the Midway Cemetery.