About Us

About Faye

Faye Gehl moved to Lake Country in 1965 with her husband John who had been a part of the community since 1952. Together they raised 5 kids on Beaver Lake, one of dozens of lakes in the area. Faye loved Beaver Lake and she was ahead of her time in protecting it.  She did not allow her family to wash their hair in the lake, sink empty soda cans in the water, or drive a big motorboat–all things that would damage the ecology of the lake.  

But Faye’s love and respect for the natural world went beyond Beaver Lake. Having been raised in a farming community, Faye loved the cows and barns that dotted the countryside, and she always dreamed of turning the family yard into a prairie. She also taught her family to recycle; soda cans in one bin and the rest of the garbage in the other, and she participated in Earth Day activities for as long as anyone can remember. (See newspaper article below.)

As a conservationist and preservationist before these labels were fashionable, it was only fitting that after Faye died in 1990 at age 46, John Gehl and his children established the Faye Gehl Conservation Foundation in her memory to help protect the natural resources of the Lake Country that she loved so much. And to this day, almost 30 years after her death, the family home on Beaver Lake has the same small motorboat. With a 30hp motor, it is a true putt-putt compared to most boats on the lake! Faye would be so pleased to see that her family is Keeping the Country in Lake Country.