James (Ted) Gebhard

James (Ted) Gebhard, 57, passed away on Friday, August 26, 2022, after a long courageous battle with vascular dementia. Ted was born December 16, 1964 and was adopted as an infant by Ron and Laurine Gebhard of Germantown. The family moved to West De Pere when Ted was four. Ted was an avid outdoorsman from an early age. He took every opportunity, in any season, to fish, hunt and trap, even skipping school with the help of his sister to do so! He enjoyed being on the water and in the woods and spent a lot of time in the north woods of Vilas County with his family as a child and young adult.

After spending several years working in the beef industry and pouring concrete foundations, he returned to school and obtained a food science degree from NWTC, Green Bay and began working at Morning Glory Dairy as a Lab Technician. He continued to work with the same company through several buy outs, until his disease caused the work to be too difficult.

Ted was united in marriage to his best friend, Maureen Durkee on September 7, 2003, in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. Almost every trip they took together involved fishing, so their wedding would be no different, trout fishing together that morning, married on a pier, and horseback riding that afternoon.

The couple enjoyed many years on their property in Fremont and eventually had a home built. It was there they raised bees and sold the honey created by their bee family calling their business Honeymoon Hives. Their homestead emulates his love of the outdoors with the woods and native prairie they planted.

Ted is preceded in death by his parents and his mother-in-law, Myra Durkee. He is survived by his loving wife, Maureen; his dog, Meadow; his sister, Mary (Jim) with nephews, James and MacKenzie all of Madison; cousin, Barb(Ken); father-in-law, Gerald Durkee; the extended family he gained from the marriage; along with his birth family that reunited with him in the later years.

Ted will forever be remembered for his kind and giving heart and warm smile. Our lives have been enriched by knowing Ted. Thank you to Azura Memory Care of Oshkosh for their care and attention to Ted in his final days.

In lieu of flowers, donations made will be used to honor Ted’s favorite charities. The family invites friends and family to join them celebrate the life of Ted on Sept. 1, 2022, at the Reedsville Firefighter’s Park, 301 Park St., Reedsville, WI from 4 PM to 8 PM.