Abraham (Abe) Giest, 97, passed away on August 7, 2020 in Manteca. He was born May 15, 1923 in Ordway, Colorado.
Abe leaves behind his adored wife Elsie, his sons, Gary (Bonnie) of Ripon and Bob of Florida. He was blessed with five grandchildren, Amanda, Chessa, Gary Jr., Alison and Kyle. In addition, he has seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Abe arrived in Manteca in 1938 from Ordway, CO, a small farming town, with his mom Pauline and two of his brothers. WWII called a few years later and Abe enlisted in the Marine Corp, where he would serve his country in the Pacific, fighting the battles on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Abe returned to Manteca after the war where he would meet Elsie and they would raise their two sons.
Over the years, Abe and Elsie remained active. Abe’s weekly golf games with longtime friends kept him hitting the links into his early 90’s. At the age of 88, in a game with his sons, Gary, Bob and grandson Gary Jr., he showed them all up with a hole-in-one. His active lifestyle included his daily hour-long rides on what looked and sounded like the first ever-made stationary bike, as one can imagine it was quite a workout. None of those trendy diets could be attributed to his longevity, Abe was a meat and potatoes guy who could grill a mean T-bone. His apple a day must have contributed some and in his later years, his 23 almonds a day probably helped too. After all, he lived in the heart of almond country for 82 years.
Throughout his life, Abe put to use his good-natured ways with volunteer efforts, which included the American Legion, the Boy Scouts, Manteca Care Center, Manteca Volunteer Fire Dept. and St. Anthony’s Church. He truly enjoyed the community of Manteca and what it offered for his family. About a year ago, at the age of 96, Abe aced his driver’s test, even the folks at the DMV were impressed. He still drove like a teenager on his daily visits to a local care center to help care for the love of his life, his bride of 71 years, Elsie. Abe studied for his driver’s test for months, which seemed a bit much, but he wanted to make sure he could make those daily drives to see his wife. He could be seen driving around town and to see Elsie in his highly sought after 1986 F150 truck, which he kept so immaculate that one could eat off.
Those daily drives to see his wife Elsie at the care center stopped in March when the center’s doors were closed to visitors due to the coronavirus. With his health failing Abe did make it back to the center for his own care, where he was able to share time and hold Elsie in the last few days of his life.
Abe would have said his family contributed the most to his long years, he truly loved his wife and boys, all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and his four siblings, which he was the last survivor.
Abe was an amazing husband, father, grandfather and wonderful friend. He will be deeply missed.
Abe was laid to rest at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery with full military honors. Please continue to pray for the family.
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Abe leaves behind his adored wife Elsie, his sons, Gary (Bonnie) of Ripon and Bob of Florida. He was blessed with five grandchildren, Amanda, Chessa, Gary Jr., Alison and Kyle. In addition, he has seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Abe arrived in Manteca in 1938 from Ordway, CO, a small farming town, with his mom Pauline and two of his brothers. WWII called a few years later and Abe enlisted in the Marine Corp, where he would serve his country in the Pacific, fighting the battles on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Abe returned to Manteca after the war where he would meet Elsie and they would raise their two sons.
Over the years, Abe and Elsie remained active. Abe’s weekly golf games with longtime friends kept him hitting the links into his early 90’s. At the age of 88, in a game with his sons, Gary, Bob and grandson Gary Jr., he showed them all up with a hole-in-one. His active lifestyle included his daily hour-long rides on what looked and sounded like the first ever-made stationary bike, as one can imagine it was quite a workout. None of those trendy diets could be attributed to his longevity, Abe was a meat and potatoes guy who could grill a mean T-bone. His apple a day must have contributed some and in his later years, his 23 almonds a day probably helped too. After all, he lived in the heart of almond country for 82 years.
Throughout his life, Abe put to use his good-natured ways with volunteer efforts, which included the American Legion, the Boy Scouts, Manteca Care Center, Manteca Volunteer Fire Dept. and St. Anthony’s Church. He truly enjoyed the community of Manteca and what it offered for his family. About a year ago, at the age of 96, Abe aced his driver’s test, even the folks at the DMV were impressed. He still drove like a teenager on his daily visits to a local care center to help care for the love of his life, his bride of 71 years, Elsie. Abe studied for his driver’s test for months, which seemed a bit much, but he wanted to make sure he could make those daily drives to see his wife. He could be seen driving around town and to see Elsie in his highly sought after 1986 F150 truck, which he kept so immaculate that one could eat off.
Those daily drives to see his wife Elsie at the care center stopped in March when the center’s doors were closed to visitors due to the coronavirus. With his health failing Abe did make it back to the center for his own care, where he was able to share time and hold Elsie in the last few days of his life.
Abe would have said his family contributed the most to his long years, he truly loved his wife and boys, all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and his four siblings, which he was the last survivor.
Abe was an amazing husband, father, grandfather and wonderful friend. He will be deeply missed.
Abe was laid to rest at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery with full military honors. Please continue to pray for the family.
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Thursday, September 10, 2020
