Gwendlyn Gelesko

Gwendlyn Gelesko, 88, Fort Myers, Florida passed away after a brief illness on Sunday, September 27, 2015, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Michigan, surrounded by her family. Gwen was born on June 12, 1927, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, the only child of Braden and Ruth Flesher Wingrove. After an early childhood on a rustic Pennsylvania farm with extended family, Gwen was raised in Chicago by Ruth and her beloved adoptive father, Bernard (Bill) Robb. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and graduated in 1949 with a psychology degree. In 1949, Gwen married Norman Van Stickney, also a graduate of Northwestern, and they raised four daughters in St. Joseph. Gwen was a dedicated homemaker and a proud emergency-room volunteer at Memorial Hospital. She was an avid golfer, bridge player, service club member, and a constant cheerleader and mentor for her active daughters as they participated in school, artistic and sporting events. When her girls were older, she worked as a job developer in the CETA program for the Twin Cities Chamber of Commerce. She welcomed six stepchildren into her family when she married her second husband, Nicholas (Nick) Gelesko, in Chicago, Illinois, in 1974. Married for 41 years, they resided in St. Joseph, Sister Lakes and Fort Myers, Florida. Gwen was an adventurous world traveler, who hiked across the state of Michigan and joined Nick on the Appalachian Trail. A determined tennis player and geocache aficionado, Gwen had a playful sense of humor and was a curious seeker with a lifelong passion for genealogy, following in her mother’s footsteps. Gwen is survived by her beloved husband, Nick; children, Janet Stickney Burke of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan; Ann (Steve Haworth) Stickney of Phelan, California; Carol Stickney of Plano, Texas; and Kay (Bill Dine) Stickney-Dine of St. Joseph; stepchildren Barbara McKee, Fairfield, California; Richard Gelesko, Ottawa, Ontario; and Beverly (David) Thrower of Portage, Michigan. Cherished grandchildren are Mitchell, Sydney and Trevor Burke; Emma and Claire Dine; step-grandchildren Scott, Derek and Kristin McKee; Deborah San Juan; Willow Kelley; Savannah Gelesko; Lana Rappette and Jessica Allen; Bartley, Daniel and Nicholas Thrower. Gwen took joy in them all and their respective spouses and also in her 19 great- grandchildren. Gwen was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Ruth Robb; first husband, Norman Stickney; stepchildren David, Bill and Don Gelesko; step-grandchild Cory Gelesko. Cremation has taken place. A celebration of Gwen’s life will be Saturday, October 3, 2015, 4 to 6 p.m., Starks & Menchinger, 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to the Lee County Genealogical Society (LCGS, PO Box 150153, Cape Coral, Florida  33915-0153). Those wishing to leave online condolences may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Gwen touched many lives and will be missed by all who knew her.