Christine Marie Geerts, 58
Christine Marie Geerts, age 58 of Alta Vista, died Sunday, July 11, 2021 at MercyOne North Iowa in Mason City.
Funeral service will be held 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton with Rev. Brian Dellaert celebrating the service.
Friends may greet the family from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral home. Interment will be at a later date.
Christine Marie was born on July 9, 1963 to Francis and Clarice (Holthaus) Glaser at what was then known as St. Joseph’s Hospital in New Hampton, and she grew up in North Washington with her parents, three brothers and two sisters.
She attended school in New Hampton, and although she did not graduate from New Hampton High School, she did earn her GED.
Christine married Robert Zeien in 1980, and the couple had five children — Adam, Ashley, Autumn, April and Alicia — before later divorcing. The Zeien kids grew up with not only the best “mom hugs” but also a mother who was a hard worker — she not only did her fair share of chores around the farm but was also a truck driver — and the best cook. Trust us, the “mom potatoes” were the absolute best mashed potatoes you could find.
Christine married Gene Aschenbrenner on Dec. 31, 1999, and the couple first lived in Iowa before moving to North Carolina, where they “team drove” semi-truck trailers together for a number of years before moving back to Iowa, settling in Alta Vista. Gene passed away in 2015. After she moved back to Iowa, she went to work for Reicks View Farm.
On New Year’s Eve 2016, Christine was having a drink or two at Schucky’s in Alta Vista, where she met Curtis Geerts. They ended up getting into a euchre game — one that Curtis swears he won, although we bet Christine would beg to disagree. They began dating and were married on May 20, 2019.
Christine could play a mean game of pool, she loved a good card game, especially euchre, and she liked a cold beverage — especially if it was a good Long Island iced tea. She also had a little sass to her, but her No. 1 priority was always her children and grandchildren. There was no better day for Christine than one on which her family would gather together. She’d cook up a great meal, enjoy a beverage or two and just shoot the breeze in that colorful Christine way with the people she loved most in the world.
Even as she dealt with health issues, she remained a fiercely independent woman who, no matter how much pain she was in, would tell those around her that she was just fine.
She will be missed greatly by all those who knew her, but they will also cherish the memories made with this feisty woman who packed a lot of life in her 58 years here on Earth.
Christine is survived by her husband Curtis Geerts of Alta Vista, IA; one son, Adam (Cheyenne) Zeien of North Washington, IA; four daughters, Ashley (Paige Mylet) Lippert of Fort Wayne, IN, Autumn (Issac) Carter of New Hampton, IA, April (Matt) Kinley of North Washington, IA, Alicia (Mark) Miller of Norfolk, VA; 12 grandchildren; father, Francis (Norma) Glaser of Cedar Falls, IA; father-in-law, Francis Geerts of Charles City, IA; three brothers, Tom (Cindy) Glaser of Virginia, Gus Glaser of Pacific Junction, IA, Brian Glaser of New Hampton, IA; two sisters, Cindy (Al) Gilbert of New Hampton, IA, Carol (Phillip) Schrage of Marble Rock, IA; many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Clarice Glaser; one daughter, Amber at birth; granddaughter, Gabriella Lippert at birth; her second husband, Gene Aschenbrenner; mother-in-law, Rosella Geerts and sister-in-law, Barb Glaser.
