Gerhard Kiefer was born in 1934 in Ettlingen, in the Black Forest of Germany. At age 4 he moved to Kleinwallstadt, in northwestern Bavaria. He had 3 sisters, and he immigrated here by himself in 1951 at the age of 17, where he worked in his uncle Julius’ bakery on Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn. He also played soccer for Deutsche Sportclub Brooklyn at Farmer’s Oval, now occupied by Christ the King High School. Dad also worked in Yorkville and went to baking school in Chicago courtesy of his uncle.
Dad went back to Germany from 1956 to 1958. During that time he went to baking school in Stuttgart. Once again, America called, and he came back and lived with his Uncle Julius in Newark, New Jersey.
He was patient, hard working, well read, and clever. He and mom were an example of the immigrant success story. They sacrificed everything for us so that we could build the lives we have today. Because he was a baker, we were never without delicious bread and cake. Our favorites were his apple strudel and turnovers, black forest cake and sachertort. And over the years he provided cakes for countless birthdays and anniversaries
Before lyft and uber existed, Gerhard Kiefer WAS lyft and uber. Some of the things we remember most about my father are:
All the vacations to the National Parks he took us on. He gave us an appreciation for nature, classical music, soccer, animals, bad jokes, and a sense of place and history. He had a great since of humor, caring and honest with what he thought.
He had great difficulty getting over losing my mother Luitgard in 2006. The bright spot in his life is his grandson Ryan Patrick Kiefer, who was born in 2008. Dad would come over and take him off the bus, read to him, play with him and hide chocolate for him to find. Dad enjoyed visiting natural parks, going to the beach, operas and classical concerts and picking fruit and berries, among many other pursuits.
When Dad became sick, Phyllis, our guardian angel, gave him care and companionship. Phyllis was his last conversion to soccer, and she is now officially a Borussia Dortmund fan.
Dad, thank you for being a wonderful part of our lives and along with mom, for making us who we are today.
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