Delores Ann Gouge was born February 18, 1938 in rural Huron County, Michigan. Her parents were Alfred H. and Verna Dietzel.
Delores graduated from Pigeon High School in 1956. Delores got her LPN license a few years later in LaJunta, Colorado. A man named Dewey Gouge worked in the laundry of the hospital where Delores did her clinical work. He swept her off her feet. Her first job was in the same hospital she received her training.
Dewey and Delores were married November 29, 1959. In 1963 they moved to Pigeon, Michigan, where they had their first child, Dewey Robert Gouge, Jr. Next they moved to Whitewater. On November 23, 1954 a daughter, Debra Cay, was born. Then on November 23, 1965 a second daughter, Pamela Sue, was born. They moved to Buhler in 1969. In 1978 Delores went back to work. She had not renewed her license when they moved to Colorado because the next state said she would need more coursework done. So she took a job as a janitor at Central Christian, the school where her daughters would attend the next year. She worked until Pam was in college. Then to stay active Dewey and Delores took tickets for games at Central. They joined a senior Bible group called Young at Hearts.
Delores enjoyed gardening until she moved to Sunshine Meadows Assisted Living in 2016. She moved to the nursing home in 2019. Her last move was to Heaven to live with her Lord on September 19, 2021.
Delores’s parents preceded her in death, along with her sister, Jeannette Reibling and her husband Edsel, and two of her brothers, Cleason Dietzel and Alfred Dietzel, Jr.
She is survived by her children, Dewey Jr., Debra and Pamela; two brothers, Kenneth Dietzel (Judy) and Gerald Dietzel (Judy); in laws, Louise Dietzel and Georgia Dietzel; and an aunt, Helen Loewen.
Memorial service will be 10:00 a.m., Thursday, September 23, 2021, at Buhler Mortuary. Burial will follow at Buhler East Cemetery. Friends may pay their respects 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, September 22, 2021, with family present to greet friends 5-7 p.m., at Buhler Mortuary.