Jeffrey Martin Gerst, a long-time resident of Akron, went to sleep in Jesus on Sunday, December 30, 2018, after a short, intense battle with cancer.  Jeff was born on April 12, 1963 in Loveland, CO.  His parents, Martin Gerst and Nola McDonald, preceded him in death.  He is survived by his brothers Michael and Ben Gerst, and sister, Sher Bottjer, their spouses, and several nieces and nephews and cousins.

Jeff was a long time employee of Spicknall's GMC dealership.  After moving to Texas and Oklahoma for several years, Jeff spent 9 months in mission service in Tanzania teaching auto mechanics and maintaining the hydroelectric plant at a mission school.  After his mission trip he returned to Akron, where he worked at Hayes Aviation and for the Akron School District, first as a substitute bus driver and then as a full-time driver beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, until his illness made working impossible.

As an avid Ham Radio enthusiast, Jeff has friends from those contacts all around the world.  He was very active in Summits on the Air, a shortwave radio group, and has made contacts from many 14'ers over the years.  He was also active with a Bible study group that met on the air every morning at 5:30 a.m. and a world-wide group that met every Sunday morning.

Jeff graduated from Campion Academy in Loveland, CO and attended Union College in Lincoln Nebraska, Devry Technical School in Arizona, and graduated from Goodland Technical College in Goodland, Kansas.  He was an active member of the Akron Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Because he was a strong supporter of Christian education, memorial gifts may be given in his name to Campion Academy, or Lighthouse SDA Christian School in Fort Morgan, CO.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Akron at 2:00 p.m.