Letitia M. Gum

Letitia M. Gum (aka Tish, Letty, Aunt Letty and GG) died peacefully on March 14, 2020. She loved nothing better than a fun obituary, so the pressure is on for us to produce. She hated obituaries that referred to the deceased as beloved by their families, since she assumed that most of the time they were lying. Even though she was loved and treasured by all of us, we won’t say that here. She also missed the days when obituaries listed the cause of death, so in her case, the cause of death was that she was really, really old. She was born in 1920 to the late Letitia (Riley) and Charles Gum. During the depression her family moved quite a bit, from Camden, to Burlington, NJ, to Collegeville and, finally, to Conshohocken. She graduated from Conshohocken High School and spent her entire working career at Quaker Chemical in Conshohocken. She loved to travel and was particularly fond of Rockport, MA and the Jersey shore.

In addition to her parents she was predeceased by her brothers Richard and Jerome, her sister Shirley, and her sister-in-law, Jane. She is survived by her nieces Linda, Susan (James), Leslie, Dawn, Debbie, and Karen (Jamie), her nephew Brian (Babette), and Richard’s wife, Evelyn, along with a number of great and great-great nephews and nieces. She came up with the GG nickname when her great-great nieces were born, to which one replied “That’s right, because she is great great!

She loved having a scotch every night before dinner and, in fact, her health only began to fail when she stopped drinking scotch. We’re not really sure which came first. She also loved cats - all cats - and spent a chunk of change feeding the neighborhood stray (and not so stray) cats. One of the family members pointed out that the freshest food in the house was always the cat food.

She was a deeply religious person and devoted to her Episcopal faith. It was one of the great sadnesses of her life that her former church, Calvary Episcopal, closed a few years ago. She was a Sunday school teacher, but she also loved a good swear. The air often turned blue when she was watching Jeopardy and could be heard cursing (we won’t say which words) at contestants she detested.

She always had a love of reading and, after retiring, spent many years volunteering at William Jeanes Library. She and her aide and friend, Donna, spent many happy hours at the Wissahickon Library. She was very disappointed when she realized that she could not possibly live long enough to read every book in the library. She was also a voracious crossword puzzle solver.

She was a cranky and fun, sweet and sour, dignified, refined, and belly-up-to-the-bar woman and we will all miss her, whether she likes it or not. She was always there for us.

Under the current circumstances, interment was private for the immediate family. In a few months, when the crisis has settled down, we’re going to have a proper funeral and memorial service for her. She deserves better than we could give her now. If you would like to be included in that notification, please keep an eye on the Moore, Snear & Ruggiero website. Word of warning - do not wear black to her service, unless you’re making a fashion statement. She wanted everyone to wear bright colors, particularly her favorite - any shade of purple. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution, in her memory, to the animal charity of your choice.

Arrangements by Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 300 Fayette St., Conshohocken, PA 19428; 610-828-0330 www.msrfh.com