Obituary: Geraldine "Gerre" Margaret Halaus, 50 Year Palatine Resident

Geraldine "Gerre" Margaret Halaus, 82, was a resident of Palatine for more than 50 years. Gerre was born on March 24, 1931 in Chicago and she passed away April 20, 2013.

Beloved wife of the late Raymond; loving daughter of the late Hammy and Babe Ziemke; dear sister of John Lenz. An avid horsewoman and trainer as well as a judge and trainer of Grand Champion German Shepherds. The Past President of the German Shepherd Dog Training Club of Chicago.

A letter from Gerre:

My name is Gerre Halaus. I was born in Chicago in 1931. We lived across the street from Riverview Park and my family ran much of the park. My uncle was a carpenter that built the Bobs, a great wooden roller coaster. I would sit on my front porch and watch the people come and go. Actually I could go to the park any time I wanted and was there often. I probably didn’t know how lucky I was and that I was a part of the history of Chicago.

When I was still a young girl my mother died and sometime after that my dad remarried a widow that had been a longtime family friend. I now had 2 brothers John & George. John was still very young and my dad raised him like he was his own. Then I married Ray. He was very handsome and a great roller skater. All the girls wanted to skate with him because he was so good. We started raising dogs together and needed to move from the flat in my dad’s house in Chicago to a place where we could provide a good home for them. We bought a little home in unincorporated Palatine with a big piece of land. We had horses too. In those days there were riding trails all around the Barrington/Palatine area and we could ride to each other’s houses.

I loved horses and dogs. I guess that came from my father who used to take me to a stable in Lincoln Park when I was growing up and taught me how to ride. Later on I played that forward and taught young John how to ride at the same stables. I always said I was better with animals than I was with people. I just seemed to have a sense of what the animals were thinking and feeling. I became a competitive rider and won a number of ribbons. My horses were Arabians and I just loved to ride.

We also had race horses. Ray liked to bet and I loved to ride and care for the horses. We had a trainer and a jockey but often I would take the horses out and exercise them. Boy I wish I could have been a jockey and rode horse in races like that – full out! Those were great times and sometimes we even won! One time Ray bought a horse that wasn’t broken. When asked how he was going to handle that he just said “Gerre will break the horse”. He bought it and I did.

I also loved to train dogs and became a professional trainer. I did agility, obedience and tracking training. I taught in the local park districts and belonged to the American Shepard Club. My dogs won many awards but the pinnacle of my career was having an American and Canadian Champion. The German Shepard’s name was “Useless”. I named him that because someone brought him to me because he needed a home and I thought I already have 2 shepherds – having another is really useless. Well Useless became my champion – fancy that! Most of my dogs were rescued animals. Some had been badly abused before I got them but with love and patience they all became great animals.

My last rescued dog was Ebo. My friend Karen brought him to me one day because she was trying to find a home for him. He is a beautiful pure black Shepard who loves to play ball. It gave me great pleasure to work with him as Ray had died and I now had company. Ebo stayed with me until last summer when I became too debilitated to manage him. He needed a good home with a strong trainer. My friends Micky and Sherri Lorhman have him now and I am very grateful. Ebo has a good home and now I rest in peace. I had a great life. Do not mourn me. Pray for me. Go about your life and whatever you do, be happy.

Love Gerre

Funeral Information

Visitation Thursday, April 25, 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. The Funeral will be on Friday, April 26, 9:30 a.m. from Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Hwy., Palatine to St. Theresa Catholic Church for Mass at 10 AM. Interment Evergreen Cemetery.

Donations Information

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Rainbow Hospice, 1550 Bishop Court, Mt. Prospect, IL 60056 would be appreciated.

Information provided by Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home.