Gina M. Gebhard

Gina M. Gebhard, age 56, of Wakefield passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side on the morning of March 18th after nineteen years of courageously battling with five different cancers. 

She was born at the New England Memorial hospital in Stoneham on September 24th, 1966 and was the beloved daughter of the late Joseph A. and Jane (Ciarfella) Bernabeo. 

Gina was raised in Wakefield and was a graduate of Wakefield Memorial High School, Class of 1984. She went on to graduate from Fitchburg State College. Gina had worked as a microbiologist at Children’s Hospital for many years and was a member of the First Parish Congregational Church of Wakefield. She was a world-class animal lover, a skilled and creative cake decorator, and a bright light for the whole world, who made anyone she met feel special. Her proudest achievement was that she was the world’s best mom. 

Gina’s love lives on through her loving husband, Leonard D. Gebhard; her three cherished daughters, Gianna Jane, Talia Annmarie, and Vanessa Mia Gebhard; and her brothers, Dana P. Bernabeo and his wife Helen, their two sons Ryan and Joseph, and Joseph A. Bernabeo and his wife SueAnn and their two sons, Joseph and Anthony. Her kindness, caring and light also lives on in the many friends whose lives she touched. 

Her Funeral Service will be held in the First Parish Congregational Church, 1 Church St., Wakefield on Friday, March 24th at 11:00 a.m. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield on Thursday, March 23rd from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Interment will be at Forest Glade Cemetery in Wakefield. 

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.