A village’s final farewell: Poynette remembers prominent figure with a unique funeral procession

POYNETTE, Wis. — In Poynette, a small town of 2,500 people, John Deere is a common name. That’s mostly because long-time resident Dave Gehin owned 21 John Deere tractors.

“That was his biggest joy, his tractors,” Gehin’s wife, Gale Gehin, said.

She noted that his passion for tractors even outlived the passion he had for his longtime business, D&G Custom Meat Processing. He closed the business in 2015. While this passion eventually ended, his passion for tractors continued.

But on Nov 10, Gehin died unexpectedly of kidney failure.

“He was ready to leave the hospital,” Gale said. “When they took the tubes out of his neck from dialysis, he must have passed a blood clot because he just lasted a couple minutes and he was gone.”

This Thanksgiving would have marked their 52nd wedding anniversary.

Gale said Gehin was well-known, not just for his popular business, but for the smile he carried even after hours.

“He never met a person he didn’t like and everyone liked him. There wasn’t anyone that would say a bad word against him,” Gale said.

After his funeral procession at Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home, family and friends drove behind five of his tractors, driven by his grandsons, as they led the way through town to his burial site. Gale said seeing this would have made her husband ecstatic.

“I’m sure he wished he could sit right there and watch the whole thing, especially those tractors going down the road. It makes your heart beat a little faster,” she said.

More information about Gehin’s life and legacy can be found here.

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