Irene "Connie" Gerig, age 91, a resident of Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream, IL, died Saturday, March 10, 2012, at Windsor's Johnson Health Care Center. She was born April 21, 1920 in Sterling, IL.

During her early childhood her family moved to Chicago, IL and.later to Pontiac, IL where she graduated from high school in 1937. She attended Wheaton College where she met her husband Reginald. They were piano majors, performing together on occasion, and graduated in 1942. They were married in June of 1944. While Reginald was in the Navy she taught music in public schools. Toward the end of the war she joined him while he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From 1946 to 1950 they lived in the New York City area where their children were born. They moved to Rochester, NY and in 1952 they returned to Wheaton College when Reginald joined the piano faculty.

Connie was a piano teacher for more than 40 years, teaching young people in her home. She sang for many years in the College Church choir where she was active in the music program. She was a loving wife who traveled frequently with her husband to support him on his lecture tours and career as a professor of piano at Wheaton College and as a noted author in his field. She was a devoted mother who encouraged her children in their chosen endeavors.

She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Reginald R. Gerig, Sr.; her two children, Sarah (Bruce) Campbell of Wyandotte, MI, and Reginald (Daphne) Gerig, Jr. of Hyattsville, MD; her granddaughter, Lauren Gerig; and her niece, Sue O'Keefe of Lake Villa, IL. She was preceded in death by her sister, Elizabeth Brewer.

A visitation will be held on Friday, March 16, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of a funeral service to be held at 11:00 a.m. at College Church in Wheaton, 332 E. Seminary Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187. Interment will follow at Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, IL.

In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be directed to the music program at College Church.