Preston G.

Preston Garth Gee, 74, passed away on Saturday, May 7, 2011, at Seasons of Life hospice in Woodruff, Wisconsin, following a seven-month illness. Preston was born on January 5, 1937, at Marshfield, Wisconsin, to Rosabelle and Garth Gee, a Presbyterian minister, and was the second of five children. He attended school in Shawano and Crandon until moving to New Berlin, Wisconsin, where he graduated from Waukesha High School in 1955. He attended Carroll College in Waukesha and graduated in 1959 with a B.A degree in psychology and sociology. He then attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1961. Pres married Christina “Jody” McMichael on June 16, 1962, one week after she also graduated from Carroll. After a brief time of employment in the area, the young couple moved to Meadow Vista, California, where he was employed at DeWitt State Hospital in nearby Auburn for four years and then was Executive Director of the Tri-County Family Service Agency in Yuba City, California. In 1969, the family, now including a daughter, Lori, and a son, Rob, moved to Ashland, Wisconsin, where Preston had been hired by the North Central Guidance Clinic. They bought a home in Bayfield in 1970 where they lived for 35 years. A devoted husband and father, Pres treasured what life in Bayfield offered his children: the lake, music, team sports, swimming, skiing, reading, art, the school and ‘driving on the ice road,’ for example. The family was active in the Bayfield Presbyterian Church. Over the years, Pres worked for various mental health agencies centered in the Chequamegon Bay area but also serving outlying counties. He provided psychiatric and family counseling and led seminars on effective parenting and teaching. On two different occasions, he established his own private practice. In 2005 Pres and Jody relocated to a retirement community in Minocqua, Wisconsin, and enjoyed the quiet reflection such a life can provide. He served as Chair of the Urban Rural Community Council at the Bayfield schools in the 1970s and was a member of the Bayfield School Board. He was a member of the National Ski Patrol at Mt. Ashwabay (Port Mountain) for ten years. He was a National Park Service volunteer on Manitou Island, part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, as well. Preston earned his private pilot’s license and flew regularly over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and over the beautiful Apostle Islands of Lake Superior. An avid swimmer, he enjoyed the clear cold waters of Lake Superior as often as possible. Music, particularly jazz and classical, was one of the joys of his life. Along with his wife, he was an original member of the Chequamegon Area Choir and sang with the Rittenhouse Singers in Bayfield for about ten years. Preston was preceded in death by his parents, Garth and Rose, and two brothers, infant Alan Richard and Paul Stuart, a Marine killed in Viet Nam. He is survived by his beloved wife of almost 49 years, Jody, and his loving children, Lori (Greg) Mercer of Lynnwood, Washington, and Robert (Erin) Gee of Middleton, Wisconsin. He is also survived by four grandchildren - Thomas and Cameron Mercer and Chris and Katie Jo Gee - and two brothers, Peyton Gee, of Woodruff, and Richard (Donna) Gee of Minocqua. A memorial celebration of life will be held at the Bolger Funeral Home, 212 West Chicago Avenue, Minocqua, on Saturday, May 14, with visitation beginning at. 9:30 a.m. The memorial celebration, led by Rev. John Green of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (formerly of Bayfield, Wisconsin), is at 10:30 with a time of fellowship afterward. Casual dress. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to Pres’ favorite radio entities (Wisconsin Public Radio, National Public Radio, or WXPR Radio in Rhinelander), Dr. Kate Hospice of Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin, or your own favorite charity.

Preston G.

January 5, 1937 - May 7, 2011