Cadillac, Michigan- Gerrie C. (Smrekar) Uptegraft passed away on Monday, August 24, 2020 with her family by her side. She was 92. Gerrie was born on December 16, 1927 in Cadillac, Michigan. She was the second oldest child of Francis and Catherine (Kobe) Smrekar's eleven children. Gerrie's real name was Catherine Geraldine, however her father's sister started calling her Gerrie and the name just stuck. She graduated from Cadillac High School in 1946. In high school, she worked at the Miller Cafe and Bolt Lumber Company. She met her future husband while she was working at Doyle Freight. One of Gerrie's first dates with Ken, who owned a Stearman Bi-wing Open Cockpit Acrobat Airplane, asked her to go flying with him. So as they were flying, he suddenly went straight up through the clouds until the airplane stalled. He then let the plane flutter while they fell downward and he pulled up the plane just to see what she was made of. Ken quickly learned that she was a pretty tough little lady and she was tough until the very end! Gerrie later went to work for Harvey Houston, CPA and spent the remainder of her career as an office manager and assistant to Dr. Jon Snyder, Podiatrist. In her spare time, Gerrie enjoyed; sudoku puzzles, golfing, knitting, square dancing, reading, walking, gardening, and baking. She also liked; butterscotch muffins, hot weather, the Detroit Tigers, listening to the Cadillac Vikings on the radio, 30 second phone calls, and holy cards. Some of her most favorite things included watching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren play soccer, tennis and backyard family baseball games! She also cherished family reunions at the Pine River with her siblings and many nieces and nephews. She is survived by her loving children, Gary (Dale) of Lady Lake, FL, Mary (Doug) Ferrin of Zeeland, MI and Roxann (John) Hines of Cadillac; grandchildren, Chad (Tara), Amy (Burke) Colby, Josh, Jeremy, Elisha (Scott), and Abbi; great-grandchildren, Lucy, Kaitlyn, Haley, Gibson, Brady, Elise and Parker; siblings, Mary Ann, Dee (Bob), Pat (Ken), Jan, Marg and Bill (Pat); and many other loving family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ken; her brothers, Jim (Grace) and Dutch (Marian); her sisters, Claire (Bill) Brehm and Joanne (Ken) John; brothers-in-law, Merle, Greg, and Terry. A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, August 29, 2020 at 10 a.m. with visitation held one hour prior at St. Ann Catholic Church. Officiating will be Rev. Michael Janowski. Interment will take place at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, masks are required for entry at the church. Memorial contributions may be directed to St. Ann Catholic Church Gift Shop. The family is extremely grateful to the staff at Sunnyside Senior Living and Hospice of Michigan for the care and compassion Gerrie received while she was under their care. The family is being served by Hitesman-Holdship Funeral Home.