Bradley P. Gerhardt was born on March 4, 1957, in Trimont, Minn., son of Paul and Gloria (Smith) Gerhardt. Brad grew up on a farm near Fairmont with his five older siblings where he learned the importance of honesty and the value of a hard day’s work. Some of his favorite memories came from his time on the farm, from driving tractors at a young age, milking cows on their dairy farm and helping with the many other daily chores. Brad attended school in Fairmont and graduated from Fairmont High School with the class of 1975, later inducted to their athletic Hall of Fame. He went on to attend South Dakota State University where he competed in gymnastics. After determining his career path, Brad then enrolled at Alexandria Technical College where he earned his degree in law enforcement.

On October 1, 1977, Brad was united in marriage to Nyla Quiring at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mountain Lake, Minn. This union was blessed with three sons; Scott, Luke and Chris. Brad and Nyla began their married life in Alexandria and later moved to Breckenridge where Brad began his career in law enforcement and was a member of the fire department and an EMT for the ambulance service. The family later made Fairmont home, where Brad served his community for many years as a patrolman, and following promotions, as a sergeant and lieutenant where he trained many officers. The last eight years of his law enforcement career were spent serving the citizens of Martin County as their elected sheriff.

Brad’s passion for music started as a young boy when his mom would take him to choir practice at the age of eight. In high school, Brad sang in the choir, the Madra Pops, and several musicals. He later sang in a Barbershop chorus and many quartets and often his family vacations centered around singing events held throughout the Midwest. Brad was a member of Grace Lutheran Church where he cantered for services, sang with “Brothers in Grace” and the chancel church choir. His passion for music and arts spilled over to the stage as he performed lead roles in countless Civic Summer Theatre productions at the Fairmont Opera House and many other community venues. Brad found great joy in serving and helping those in the community and wasn’t one to sit back and watch from the stands. In fact, for many years, you could see Brad roaming the sidelines of football games and working hard near the scorer’s table of basketball games as he helped call the games for the local radio station.

Faith and family were extremely important to Brad and to those closest to him he loved sharing his wonderful sense of humor. He had a tender side to him that most didn’t get to see because of his work in law enforcement and loved being “papa” to his grandchildren. Brad enjoyed working on projects at home but quite often his “handy work” led to an injury of some kind and usually a laugh following. He treasured memories made with his family going on camping and fishing trips and was active in all of his children’s activities.

As Brad transitioned from this life to the next, he was surrounded by music and the people he loved. Left to cherish his memory is his wife, Nyla Gerhardt; children, Chris (Ashley) Gerhardt and Lukas (Darcy Mayer) Gerhardt; grandchildren, Tyler, Makenzie, Kayden, Kolton, Grayson, Paxton, Brekken, Michael, Sofie, and Hadlee; siblings, Wayne (Laurie) Gerhardt, Elaine Gerhardt, Ronald (Vicki) Gerhardt, Beverly Gerhardt, and Milah (Joel) Howlett; brothers-in-law, Jim (Barb) Quiring and Dale (Sheryl) Quiring; as well as many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Brad was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Gloria Gerhardt; son, Scott Gerhardt; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Arnold and Norma Quiring; as well as other family members.

The family requests memorials be made in Brad’s name to the Fairmont High School Booster Club.

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