Peter Joseph Gaul, Jr.

Peter Joseph Gaul, the son of Peter and Elizabeth Gaul, was born on August 19, 1930, on a farm near Earling, Iowa. He was the tenth child in a family of eleven boys and one girl. He attended St. Joseph's Catholic School and graduated in 1948. After graduation, he moved to Davenport Iowa, and worked at ALCOA in Bettendorf Iowa. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1951 and spent two years in Germany as part of a propaganda unit.

After his service in the army, he married his high school sweetheart, Hilary Mae, on June 27, 1953. They have seven children together. The children remember their father as loving and exceptionally involved in education. All his kids have fond memories of their dad reading to them and involving them in household projects. As they got older, he mentored his children in mathematics and computer science. His final lesson was teaching his family how to die with dignity, a process that he laughed off as him being "old and decrepit." He was remarkably mobile until his last month, and he was only fully bedbound for the last couple days before his passing at home at the age of 93 years old.

Peter was computer pioneer. He started in the Accounting Department of ALCOA when, in 1959, his company bought a UNIVAC computer—a massive device by today’s standards. Because Peter had exceptional math skills combined with an expansive knowledge of communications technology, he was given a new position for the times: computer programmer. In this capacity he designed code to tell the UNIVAC how to run ALCOA's aluminum rolling mill. Among his accomplishments was programming the mill to make the aluminum beverage can as we know it today.

He moved to Florida in 1979, where he continued to use his knowledge of computers in his own consulting company. He remained active after his retirement, volunteering at the Brevard County Wickham Park Senior Center and Ascension Catholic Church Social Concerns. He also wrote several books on his family’s genealogy, contributed the “Oh For Pete’s Sake” column to the Space Coast PC Users Group newsletter, and edited additional newsletters of family history and events that he mailed out to over 600 members of his and his wife’s extended families.

Peter died peacefully at home on March 13, 2024, surrounded by his wife and family. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, and nine of his brothers. He is survived by his brother Leo. Survivors also include his wife Hilary Mae, his children, Robert (Linda), Julia (Robert), Stephen (Deborah), Carl (Deborah), Gerald, Teresa (Matthew), and Maria (David), fourteen grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be Wednesday, March 20, 2024 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at the Life Event Center at Florida Memorial, 5950 South US Highway 1, Rockledge, Florida. The funeral mass will be at 11:00am, Thursday, March 21, 2024 at Ascension Catholic Church, 2950 Harbor City Boulevard, Melbourne, Florida.

The Funeral Mass on March 21, 2024 will be live streamed by Ascension Catholic Church. Follow the link: https://www.ascensioncatholic.net/ to access the live stream.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to Ascension Social Concerns www.ascensioncatholic.net.