Obituary: Joe Gerault

Joe Gerault, who served more than 18 years in a variety of ministerial roles at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, died Nov. 5 after a lengthy battle with Ataxia. He was 63.

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Joe Gerault, who served more than 18 years in a variety of ministerial roles at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, died Nov. 5 after a lengthy battle with Ataxia. He was 63. Gerault graduated from Howard Payne University in Brownwood in 1977. He went on to attend several institutions of higher learning, where he earned a specialist’s certification in gerontology, a master’s degree in religious education and a doctorate in educational ministries. Prior to arriving in the Rio Grande Valley in 1993, he served on the staff of churches in St. Louis, Mo., Hillsboro and Fort Worth. In his varied positions at Calvary Baptist Church, he organized and oversaw the Sunday school, provided direction to the remodeling of the church facility, served as consultant and church representative on the construction of two buildings, and provided pastoral care and senior adult ministry. In addition to his church staff duties, he found time to be a writer, teacher, occasional preacher and a professor on several continents. He also served in leadership positions in several professional, public and denominational organizations. He was preceded in death by a sister, Donna Treonne Gerault Odom Wick. He is survived by his wife of more than 42 years, Janet Kay Calhoun Gerault; his sister Andrea Louise Peterson and her husband Wes of Lincoln, Neb.; his sister Katie Nealeigh of Terrell; and numerous nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and three great-great nieces.


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