Obituary | Fr. Gerhardt B. Lehmkuhl, Sj

St. Louis Review
April 04, 2012

http://stlouisreview.com/article/2012-04-04/obituary-fr-gerhardt

Fr. Lehmkuhl

A funeral Mass was celebrated March 13 at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in Midtown St. Louis for Jesuit Father Gerhardt B. Lehmkuhl, who taught at DeSmet Jesuit High School, was a chaplain at St. Mary's Health Center and provided legal services to the poor and elderly.

Father Lehmkuhl, 69, died March 9 while working at his office at Jesuit Hall in St. Louis. Born in St. Louis, he attended St. Louis University High School and entered the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant in 1961. Father Lehmkuhl received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's degree in U.S. history at St. Louis University. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1974 at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church.

After ordination, Father Lehmkuhl taught history and social studies for several years at DeSmet. He received his law degree in 1983 from St Louis University.

In 1984, Father Lehmkuhl opened a law office at Jesuit Hall in St. Louis to provide legal services to the poor and elderly of the city. He recruited volunteer law students from St. Louis University to assist with legal research, enlisted other volunteers to provide clerical help and raised money from friends and alumni to support the operation. With the help, he assisted people with rental property disputes, tax problems, consumer fraud cases and other legal concerns.

In 1998 Father Lehmkuhl worked for a year in the province archives. He then served as a chaplain at St. Mary's Health Center and engaged in other types of pastoral ministry for several years. He returned to his work in legal aid in 2006 and continued that ministry until his death.

Survivors include his sister, Madelyn Kester of Kirkwood, and his brothers, David Lehmkuhl of Villa Ridge and Leonard Lehmkuhl of Arnold. Burial was in Calvary Cemetery.