May 21, 1939 – December 5, 2024

Ervin Ernest Gerber was born May 21, 1939, at the Glassburn Place, seven miles west of Craig, to John and Goldie (Echternkamp) Gerber and passed away on December 5, 2024, as the result of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident where his wife Arloa (Gentry) Gerber and daughter-in-law Ashley James also passed away.
His creativity and quick-wittedness were obvious at an early age. He could build and create a project from a scrape of wood and a dab of paint. Erv was good at engaging his siblings in his experiments to share the fallout.
Erv learned the art of water witching. His neighbors and friends called upon him to help locate a spot to drill for water, and this talent proved very helpful. This has led to hundreds of water wells being drilled around northwest Colorado.
Erv met Arloa while working on Bill Chambers’s ranch west of Craig. They were married on June 9th, 1963, in Craig, Colorado, at the Methodist Church in Meeker, Colorado. Their oldest son, Darrell, was born five years later, in 1968, and Wade followed in 1971.
Erv worked several jobs throughout the area, including ranching and building many of the county roads for Moffat County Road and Bridge. He finished his career with Seneca Coal Mine, where he worked for 25 years as an equipment operator and welder.
Erv’s time in Moffat County was spent living and laughing with all of his friends and family. If there was ever a joke to play or a laugh to be had, you could be sure that Erv would be a part of it. He most enjoyed the kids’ lives he touched, either leading 4-H or just being supportive of anything a child chose to be involved in. His favorite hobbies throughout life were leather work from a very early age and his love of tractors later in life. The thing that he was the most adamant about was raising his Herford cows. He wouldn’t think of staying in the house even when he was sick, and it was 30 below if the cows needed to be fed.
His family was what he lived for every day. The gleam in his eye any time he spent time with the grandkids and later the great-grandsons let you know that nothing in the world made him happier. The joy he got when the grandsons would help him all summer with tending cows, fixing tractors, and teaching them everything he knew about the land and how to care for everything.
Erv and Arloa loved to square dance at any chance they got. He was active in the tractor club and enjoyed working at and pulling in all local competitions. His collection of 4 antique tractors and one antique track dozer kept him busy rebuilding, tuning, or just cleaning and painting.
Erv’s presence and constant smile in this community will be greatly missed. His influence will live on forever in all of the lives he touched.
Erv is survived by his wife, Arloa; Son Wade (Tinneal) Gerber; Grandsons Tyler (Corinne) and Kearn (Sierra) Gerber; Great Grandsons Dawson and Harvey Gerber; Sisters Norma Herman and Goldie (Joe) Arroyo and brother Jim Gerber and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his son Darrell Gerber, daughter-in-law Ashley James, parents John and Goldie (Echternkamp) Gerber, siblings Leonard Gerber, John Gerber, Maxine Brannan, Edna Brannan, Ruby Richardson, Bill Gerber, Steve Gerber, Eldon Gerber, Mary Black, and Judy Ruth.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Sat., Dec. 21, 2024, at the MCHS Auditorium. Burial will follow at Craig Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Moffat County 4-H in care of Grant Mortuary.