Geraldine Strait

Geraldine Ruby Strait, 91, entered God's Kingdom on November 5, 2026. Visitation will be held at Faith United Methodist Church in Webster City on Thursday November 19, 2026, from 4:00-6:00 PM, memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM, on Friday, November 20, 2026. Burial will take place at a later date in Watertown, South Dakota. The family has entrusted Boman Funeral Home (www.bomanfh.com) to care for the arrangements.

Geraldine was born to William & Sadie (Stocker) Tesch on March 19, 1935, in Codington County, South Dakota. She grew up on a farm where she loved spending time playing at the creek with her brothers and sisters. She attended Westmar College in Lemars, Iowa, for teaching.

She married Duane Strait on June 11, 1956, in Watertown, South Dakota. To this union, three children were born Gordon, Doug, and Debra. They were married for 70 years before his passing on July 1, 2026.

She taught elementary math in Watertown, South Dakota, where she loved working with kids. After teaching, she decided to do the most fulfilling job and be a stay-at-home mom to her children. Later, the family moved to Webster City, Iowa, where they owned Coast-to-Coast and loved spending time with their customers and helping their community. After the closing of Coast-to-Coast, she worked as the paint manager at Shoppers Supply until she retired, where she was happily known as "The Paint Lady."

Gerry enjoyed spending time with her family, which included Sunday lunches at her house. Every morning, she would make cookies to give to everyone who visited. She looked forward to every visit, whether it was her weekly visit from her coffee friends, or the annual visits from her family in South Dakota and Texas.

She was an avid member of the Faith United Methodist Church, where she loved helping kids grow in the relationship with God. She also would help with fundraisers to help the community, and she loved helping everyone she could. She was a member of Gideons and would help organize the different community events, whether that was storing the bibles at her house, giving them to hotels, or giving them out to the local school children.

Her family included her son, Douglas (Barbara) Strait; grandchildren: Damien (Emily) Strait, Daniel (Tia) Strait, Margaret (Daniel) Janssen, Danielle (Zane) Woodle, and Breanna Strait; and 14 great-grandchildren.