Delores Jean Gumm

WAKEFIELD, Mich. - Delores Jean Gumm, 76, of Bessemer, passed away Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, at Gogebic Medical Care Facility in Wakefield.

She was born June 8, 1939, in Bessemer, daughter of the late Dominic and Frances Guglielmotto.

Delores grew up in Bessemer and completed her diploma from Bessemer High School in 1969 as part of the Class of 1957. She went on to attend Gogebic Community College, where she received her Licensed Practical Nursing certificate in 1974.

On Dec. 10, 1955, Delores married Earl Charles Gumm at the Gogebic County Courthouse in Bessemer.

She worked for various hospitals as a nurse for a number of years and then narrowed her focus as a psychiatric nurse at an outpatient facility in Milwaukee.

She was a member of St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Bessemer, and took pleasure in staying active, taking daily walks with her special puppy, Gus. Delores attained the rank of 5th Degree Master Black Belt in tae kwon do, a level rarely achieved in the field of martial arts. She especially loved the time spent with all of her family and friends.

Delores is survived by her husband, Earl; two sons, Jeffrey (Janet), Union Grove, Wis., and Jerry (Maria), Harvard, Ill .; a daughter, Julie (Tom) Furman, Waukesha, Wis .; two brothers, Donald (Mona) Guglielmotto, Bessemer, and Dennis (Julie) Guglielmotto, Dubuque, Iowa; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son, Jon David, in 1972.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, Feb. 27, at noon, preceded by visitation at 11 a.m., at St. Sebastian Catholic Church, with the Rev. Antony Lukka, celebrant. Rite of Committal and burial will be in the spring at Hillcrest Cemetery, Bessemer.

Three and a half years ago, Delores received the terrible news of terminal cancer. Yet as everyone knew she would not give in to that beast, and fought the battle of her life. To quote Stewart Scott, "When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, while you live, and in the manner in which you live." Delores did all of that. Because of the courage and strength she demonstrated daily - she received an incredible level of outpouring of love and appreciation from so many of you right up to the peaceful end. Not everyone gets that, and Delores knew this, and all of her family want you to know how much it meant.

Be assured that Delores died knowing without a doubt that she did indeed make a difference, that life is so very precious, and that it is the people we love who matter most.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Jerald Rocco, owner-manager of Lakeside Memorial Chapel Inc., in Wakefield. Condolences may be expressed online at lakesidememorialchapel.com.