Obituary of Gerald Bruce Motta

Gerald (Gerry) Bruce Motta was born in Edmonton, AB on February 19,1937 to parents Glen and Lillian Motta.

He spent much of his childhood in Prince Albert, SK where Glen worked for the railroad.  As the “black sheep” of the family, he left home at 16 and was off to work in Banff, Vancouver and Prince George before rejoining his family, now living in Hanna, AB in the spring of 1961.  It was there he met Irene Engel and after a whirlwind romance, they were married on August 23, 1961.  They were married for nearly 61 years. 

Gerry and Irene moved to Red Deer shortly after their marriage and welcomed daughter, Wenona in 1968.  In 1991, they were pleased to welcome son-in-law, Paul McCormick to the family.  They were even more excited in 2000 and 2001 when grandsons James and Andrew were born.  Forty-six years after arriving in Red Deer, they followed their family to Provost in 2007.  They never missed a holiday, school program or basketball game as James and Andrew grew up and they rarely missed a Sunday church service led by “their son”!

Gerry was an incredible house-builder, carpenter and craftsman. He worked as a carpenter, contractor, and later a carpentry instructor at Red Deer College. He built three custom homes for his family and helped Paul and Wenona build their first home. He also filled both Irene’s and Wenona’s homes with many pieces of furniture and artwork.  He built a houseboat that was his pride and joy, and much to Wenona’s chagrin, named it the “Wenona Ann”.

Gerry was never happier than when he was on or near the water with a fishing rod.  However, as moving to Provost meant a lack of Okanagan sized lakes for his houseboat, he built a smaller boat to take James and Andrew fishing as often as he could.  He also took up the sport of gopher hunting, and if the grandsons did not go along, he took Irene as his trusty tally keeper.  He took pride in having rid several local farmers’ fields of thousands of gophers over the years and when he had to give up his driver's license in the summer of 2025, he lost a very important part of his identity. 

When Irene passed away in 2022, he suddenly became the master of the kitchen and made hundreds of “T.V.” dinners, mostly turkey, and he took up making tarts which he delivered to the hospital, clinic and IDA and as far as the optometrist in Wainwright.  He always wanted to be welcomed by the people that would take care of him someday!

After several brief visits in the last 2.5 years, Gerry entered the hospital for the last time on January 20.  At that time, we believed he would move to the Nursing Home next, but God had other plans.  He passed away after a peaceful day, the night of February 2, 2026.  He always claimed the chinook that came to Alberta every mid-February was “his” birthday chinook.  It seems fitting that the current, above average temperatures arrived a little early this year, so he could still claim ownership one last time.

Gerry is survived by daughter Wenona (Paul); grandsons, James (Amy) and Andrew.  Sister-in- law Ruby (Otto) Litke; brothers-in-law Jim and Don Engel; one niece, five nephews and their families.

He was predeceased by his wife, Irene, infant son Kevin, parents Glen and Lillian, brother Glen, parents-in-law John and Pauline, sisters-in-law Donna and Brenda and niece Myrna.

A funeral service for Gerry will be held on Monday, February 9, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the Central Lutheran Church in Provost, Alberta with Pastor Paul McCormick officiating. Interment will follow at the Provost Cemetery. For those unable to attend, a live stream of the funeral will be available through the Gregory's Funeral Home website.

Gregory's Funeral Home Inc.

www.gregorysfuneralhomes.com