Obituary of Dee Gilmore

A funeral service for Dee Gilmore, age 100, of Estherville, and formerly of Spirit Lake, will be held Friday, December 27, 2019 at 3:00 pm, with the visitation from 1:00-3:00 pm, at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial will be at Memory Gardens in Spirit Lake. Deloras Gilmore was born to John and Maude (Taylor) Baker on December 26, 1918 in rural Spirit Lake, Iowa. After graduating from Spirit Lake High School in 1937, she worked at the Jersey Dell Tea Room, Blair's Grocery and Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. On January 28, 1945, Deloras was united in marriage to Kenneth Gilmore in Jackson, Minnesota. They resided in Spirit Lake until February, 1947 when they moved to a farm near Superior which they later purchased. After Kenneth retired in 1988, they moved to a lake home in Orleans where they lived until January 1998. At that time, they moved into the town of Spirit Lake due to Ken's poor health. Deloras was a member of the Superior Methodist Church and served as President of the United Methodist Women for twenty-three years. In 1998, she joined the Spirit Lake United Methodist Women. She was a member of the Farm Women's Study Club for over fifty years, was the original member of the neighborhood Birthday Club and served as a 4H leader for several years. In 1988, she joined the Lakeview Cemetery Society and the DCMH Auxiliary, making many cheer bears for children admitted to the hospital. Her interests were bowling, fishing, cards, reading and visiting friends. Deloras passed away December 23, 2019 at the Good Samaritan Society in Estherville, Iowa at one hundred years of age. Deloras is survived by her daughter, Denise Gilmore; sister, Ruth Coleman; brother, John Baker and his wife, JoAnn, of Madison, Wisconsin; nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Kenneth; sisters, Marjorie Titterington and Bonnie Bushaw and brothers-in-law, Earl Titterington, Ronald Coleman and Jack Bushaw.