Mary Ellen Gempel was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 7, 1928, and died in Austin, Texas on December 18. She is survived by three children: John, Jr. (Karen), Peggy Clayton (Brit), and Mary Ann Williams (Tom); eight grandchildren: Hayley Caldwell, Lane Moore, Jordan Skertchly, Micah Rossini, Natalie Gempel, Corey Mordah, Claire Begy, Richard Williams; and nine great-grandchildren.
In 1946, Mary Ellen graduated from Dominican High School in Detroit. She married her husband, Jack Gempel, in 1950, and they enjoyed 65 years of exemplary married life until he died in 2015. In the current age, when homemaking is not always considered a desirable career, a shining example can be made of Mary Ellen and the elevation of her chosen vocation to an art in its highest form. She raised her three children to be responsible, loving, and kind; and she, in turn, provided her family with incredible dinners and school lunches that classmates begged to share. She made hundreds, if not thousands, of meals for the sick and bereaved, and was charitable to a fault. Her home was warm and immaculate. She was proud of “running a tight ship.” She loved to entertain, and her grandchildren delighted in her tea parties, Christmas celebrations, and Sunday dinners. The dozens of friends who went before her were all best friends, and she never forgot a birthday or an anniversary. She was a wife, mother, and grandmother like no other. We will never forget her.
Services will be held at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 9643 Ferndale Rd., Dallas 75238, on Saturday, January 28: Mass at 1:00, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Catholic Charities of Dallas (www.ccdallas.org).
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.wcfishsouth.com for the Gempel family.
