While attending a mardi gras in Opunake on New Years Eve 1951, Gerry met Eleanor Ellison , daughter of the Manaia practitioner, Dr Ellison. Eleanor was still recovering from tuberculosis and was still quite sickly. Gerry would travel to Manaia on his motorbike to go out on dates. After a lengthy courtship , they were married on 16 January 1954, in the Ellison home in Manaia.
They began their married life working for one season on the farm of Mr Holdem, on the Eltham Road, Awatuna. Gerry Jnr was born in Opunake while they lived here. The following year, they took on their first sharemilking job on Mr Ron Old's property on Upper Oeo Rd, Auroa. They remained here for 5 seasons and built up their herd. Another four children were born while the family lived here; Jane, Shirley, Tom and Marcus.Gerry attended school at Auroa School before the family shifted again . The next sharemilking job was on the farm of Bill Bennett, son in law of Mrs Trolove, on Lower Oeo Road, Oeo. They needed to purchase more cows, so they sold their car and took out a further loan from the factory. They farmed this property for 8 seasons and the last child, Tina was born during this time.The children attended Oeo School and attended church in Manaia.
Finally in 1968 Gerry and Ella bought their own farm in Reporoa, 30 miles south of Rotorua. It was a big shift for the family , who had lived entirely within the province of Taranaki until that historic shift. The dairy farm was 142 acres and cost $36,000 land and buidings. After working for 18 years on other people's farms,and at the age of 40, he finally owned his own farm.The climatic conditions were much harsher than Taranaki but with good farm management,and sowing pumice areas into lucerne, the fertility of the farm began to improve. The Jersey herd was not well suited to the harsher climate, so the herd was cross bred with Friesen , producing a much hardier dairy cow. The children also excelled in academics at Reporoa Primary School and Reporoa College. All six children attended Church College of New Zealand in Hamilton where they achieved in academic, leadership and sporting fields.
In 1974 Gerry's father Henk came to stay for a few months. On the 9th of March 1974 , Henk was driving a tractor down to the silage pit on the farm when he had a heart attack. Gerry tried to resuscitate him but it was in vain . Henk was cremated and his ashes were sent back to Holland to be placed with his wife, Maria. This incident strongly affected him and he earnestly started to investigate Eleanor's church . Gerry Jnr was serving a proselyting mission in Gisborne at the time but was allowed to come home for the funeral and stayed to teach his father the gospel. On 30 August 1974, he was baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. Along with his wife, Eleanor, he served in numerous leadership positions in the church including serving missions to Masterton, Turangi and Taupo. At the time of writing this biography, he has been the Rotorua stake patriarch for 14 years.
In 1975 he leased the neighbouring farm of 190 acres from Reg Sheargold with a right to purchase after 5 years for $175,000 . The value of land increased sharply over that time and the farm was purchased by his eldest son, Gerry after that time. Gerry and his wife Nancy, later purchased the home farm in 1992 , but Gerry and Ella stayed in their homestead for a further 5 years. They went on an overseas trip to the Netherlands in 1980 and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA in 1982 . They visited Rarotonga some years later.
On the 23 rd of May 1997, Eleanor died after a short illness. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer only 2 months previously. Plans had been made for a house to be built on their son Tom's section in Rotorua. In July of that year he shifted into the new home, which Ella had helped to choose the plans and colours for. The following year,Tom, Annette and their 8 children built their home on the same section,only metres away and next to Tom's Medical Practice.
At the time of writing this biography, 14 March 2013, Gerry is 85 years old and has 91 living descendants .He has made a new home for himself, half way around the world from his homeland of the Netherlands, but New Zealand is his home now. As the patriarch of this family, he has established a proud legacy for his descendants to follow. A legacy based on hard work, education and faith.