Rev. Gerald "Jere" Brubaker went to be with his Lord on Wednesday, December 24, at his residence. Born in Lancaster County, he was the son of the late Harry F. and Nora Hershey Brubaker. He was the husband of Julia "Judy" Graybill Brubaker, with whom he celebrated 69 years of marriage on June 10th.  Jere graduated from Lancaster Bible College in 1958 and was honored as "Alumnus of the Year" in 1983. Reverend Brubaker was ordained to the ministry of the gospel in 1960 at Calvary Church, where he was a member for 73 years, serving as a co-teacher of the Friendship Class and as an elder.  His public ministry began at age 10 through the auspices of Child Evangelism Fellowship. As a teenaged preacher he became active in Lancaster Youth for Christ. Jere's ministry spread nationwide after winning an international preaching contest sponsored by Youth for Christ International, an organization he later joined as an evangelist for five years. He then represented Lancaster Bible College at his crusades for over 15 years.  In 1980 he founded Jere Brubaker Family Ministries, which included nationwide family conferences, marriage seminars, and a private counseling practice.  Besides his wife, Jere is survived by a daughter, Tamala (Tami), wife of Rev. Michael Derus; three grandchildren, Rev. Adam (Karis) Derus, Alexander (Cristy) Derus, and Julia, wife of Matthew Miklas, eight great-grandchildren, all of Lancaster; a sister, Dolores Buckwalter, wife of Harold Buckwalter, Lititz, and a daughter-in-law, Bobbye, wife of Ben Stayer, Denver.  He was preceded in death by two sons, Randall Cary and Stephen Craig, a twin brother, Harold, and brother, Dwight, and two sisters, Nancy MacKilligan and Sara Lowery.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service at Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Road, on Monday, January 5, at 11:00 a.m., with Dr. Peter Teague officiating. The family will receive friends at the church on Monday from 10:00 until time of service. Interment will be at the Strasburg Mennonite Cemetery at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in Jere's memory to the Calvary Church Benevolent Fund.