Loyce Ruth Gerth

August 7, 1936 – September 15, 2022 Funeral services for Loyce Ruth Gerth of Hickory, will be 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 8 at Hickory Baptist Church in Hickory.

Loyce passed away on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at the age of 86.

Loyce was born August 7, 1936, in Hickory, to John Aubra and Maybelle Clary. She grew up in the area and graduated from Hickory High School in 1954.

She married Billy Dean Gerth, her high school sweetheart, on August 10, 1954. She received her BS/MS from East Central State Teacher College. Loyce taught at Hickory School, the Gallup-McKinley County school system (New Mexico), the Oklahoma School for the Deaf, and Roff Public Schools during her teaching career and retired from teaching 4th grade at Roff in 1988.

Loyce was an active member of Hickory Baptist Church her whole life, taught the women’s Sunday School class, played piano for services, and spent many hours leading VBS programs and Christmas programs through the years. She was also actively involved with the Murray County Retired Educators Association, the Hickory Cemetery Association, the Hickory Community Organization, and Hickory Senior Citizens. She and her good friend Margaret Sledd are fondly remembered for the delicious food they prepared for the monthly Senior Citizens’ breakfasts at the Hickory Community Building.

Loyce was preceded in death by her husband, Bill Gerth, and a sister, Wilma Lacy. She is survived by two sons and their wives, Mitch and Stacy Gerth of Eureka Springs, AR, and Terry and Karen Gerth of Bartlesville, OK; grandchildren Wyatt Gerth, Katie Gerth, Morgan Gerth, Tyler Gerth, and Braden Gerth; and siblings Frances Phillips, Nancy Quinton, and Edd Clary.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make memorial donations to Hickory Baptist Church or to the Alzheimer’s Association.