Delores Kumfer

On December 28, 2025, Delores D. Kumfer (Dee) passed away in her sleep. She is preceded in death by her husband and Canasta partner, George M. Kumfer; her parents, Walter and Agnes Hartstein; and her siblings, Betty (Wynn) and David.

Dee was cherished and loved. She still is by those who continue without her, including her little sister Rosie (Lee); her children Scott (Terena) Kumfer, Dawn (Joe) Wiseman, Kim (Kirk) Doehrmann, and John (Brenda) Kumfer; her five grandchildren Jerrid (Alexis) Rydell, Lucas Kumfer, Katie (Travis Callaway) Doehrmann, Mason Kumfer, and Riley Kumfer; and her 5 great-grandchildren. There are many more not listed, but just as important, who have come and sat around her table for a quick chat, a bite to eat, or a game of Dice.

Or maybe they knew her from growing up on Hungry Hill or graduating from North Side High School. They could have crossed paths with her during her 30-plus years as a nurse. She trained at Parkview Methodist School of Nursing in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She later retired from the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company. However they may have been associated with Dee; they all knew her as the embodiment of kindness, loyalty, and quick sass. The lady who would give up everything for others in every scenario except when she was placed in a cutthroat card game, where she made sure she was victorious by any means necessary. The one who loved angels, cooking for family, and always had a smile on her face and a laugh in her voice.

We hope she is upstairs right now with a pot of goulash on the stove, frying chicken, and porcupine balls in the oven; a full table of all those who have passed before her; and a night full of playing card games. May she win them all.

An informal gathering of family and friends will be held to celebrate her life on Saturday, January 10th
The Woodlands Senior Activity Center
710 North Opportunity Drive
Columbia City, Indiana
1:30 - 4:30PM
Come and share a cup of coffee and a story or two

A Tribute
A tribute to both Delores and her late husband, George, from their granddaughter, Katie.

He was sawdust, and she was a collection of Reader's Digest recipes. The slob and the snob. The living embodiment of the grumpy/sunshine trope. I spent a good portion of my childhood at their house doing the one thing our family did best: playing games.

After school, all three of us would play Dice or Can't Stop. Grandpa usually pushed his luck and scratched. Can't play the game without taking a risk. At some point, he would stuff tissues into his ears and poke fun at the fact that I was talking so much that his ears were beginning to bleed. I never felt like I had to stop talking, though. I knew he listened through the cotton.

Grandma would stay up with me later into the night, and we would fix our bowls of ice cream. She'd let me mix whatever fruit into the chocolate syrup, trying to gross them out with grapes, oranges, and raspberries. Then we would end the night playing Speed or Go Fish. She was the queen of the off-handed comment. Said in a honey-sweet voice, but that cut straight to the point that she was beating you. "Oh, you only got how many?"

They were the type of people to give their shirts off their backs and show up in horrible weather if it meant they could help those they loved. But age comes for the best of us, and eyes and minds begin to fade. My memory hasn't. I still smile at the endless Saturdays with aunts, uncles, and cousins all surrounding the table. The call out of different games and the need for partners, or "we need one more for…"

All headed by the two biggest bullheads in our little Kumfer Clan. One full of piss and vinegar, and another of a sassy faith you only get in the Midwest. Always changing rules to make a game more competitive, strategic, or even just longer. Welcoming all who wanted to come to eat and play at their table, just as long as they had tough skin for sarcasm and a knack for shuffling.

A game night hosted around a large table full of snacks and game pieces is an ode to them and the legacy of love and family once found within their home.

I love you, Grandpa George and Grandma Dee. May you be upstairs playing the longest game of Canasta on that side of the pearly gates.

P.S. I hope Grandma wins.