Donald Leroy Gummeson

Donald LeRoy Gummeson, age 85, passed from this earth on Dec. 30, 2020, in Prescott, Arizona. He was born at home in Alhambra, CA, to Otis LaVerne and Neva (Bartosch) Gummeson. In 1956, Don married the love of his life, Connie Mullenix, whom he met on a blind date. The couple was married 64 years and raised three children.
Before meeting Connie, Don attended junior college, studying auto mechanics. But, soon after they married, he happened into the retail meat business in Southern CA, apprenticing as a meat cutter. This is the path Don would take. During the years of learning the trade,
Don was often befriended by older and wiser businessmen, who took the short-in-stature and always young-looking Don under their wings. Many lifelong friendships were made during this time and Don fondly became known as “Gummy.” Hard work and this mentoring
led Don to own several retail meat markets throughout the years. For a while, he and Connie also branched out into the restaurant business. During this time, he also raced motorcycles and he and partners built Spencer Park, a dirt racing track in California.
Don was revered as Dad, and the kids would run to the door to greet him at night. He usually worked 6-7 days a week, but would often take the kids to the meat market and introduced them to work and responsibility while they were young. Sometimes he would bring a cash drawer home and teach the youngsters to count change. All the children worked in the meat market through their teen years and beyond, and son Jimmy eventually followed in his dad’s footsteps.
Don and Connie liked to travel and camp and took their family on many adventures in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In the 1960s, they were introduced to Puertecitos, Baja California, and fell in love with the fishing camp, eventually building a house there. This was a special
time in history when many Americans owned vacation residences in the camp, which was on the Sea of Cortez. The Americans developed long-term friendships with the local Mexican people and lent them a helping hand when needed. Don and Connie encouraged
independence in their children, and this was the right place to experience it. The family escaped to Baja every chance they could.
Despite his success, Don felt something missing inside and in 1970, at age 35, his life changed forever through the ministry of Billy Graham and witnessing a true change in the lives of several friends. Never having been a religious man, he would say the most significant
event of his life was when he and Connie put their trust in God and became believers in the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. From that time forward, he would tell anyone who would listen how the Lord came into his life and radically changed him.
By 1971, Don and Connie were ready for another change and left California for Prescott, Arizona. In 1973, they cautiously opened Don’s Meats, not knowing if the small town would support them, but were blessed with several years of successful business before selling out
in 1977 and following another business venture to Boulder, CO.
It was during this time that the couple loved being grandparents and also traveled the USA, visiting family and friends along the way. Don experimented in greenhouse gardening, solar energy and prepping. He and Connie also returned to their love of Baja, but it was a fair
distance from Colorado, so in 1985, at age 50, Don fully retired from the meat business and he and Connie returned to Prescott, placing them much closer to Mexico. This began 30 years of living half the year in Arizona and half in Baja, where Don was always fixing or
building something. And most days, wearing suspenders, walking stick in hand and toothpick in mouth, he would take long walks, often made even longer as he stopped to talk to people for hours at a time. Don was a people-person, and he loved it if he could share his faith story
or his view on politics.
In Mexico, Don and Connie enjoyed the simple life. They loved the Mexican people and helped build a small church in the camp. And they enjoyed many adventures throughout the years, including camping their way down to the tip of the Baja peninsula and back. They also
introduced their grandchildren to the wonders of the region.
Don was never afraid of a project, and in 1994, he took on the task of building a house for Connie and himself among the Prescott boulders and in his later years, when he was diagnosed with dementia, he would sit at the dining room table and watch the wildlife
outside. Connie was his loving caregiver during those years, and her love for Donnie, as she called him, kept her at his side until her unexpected passing in April 2020. Don spent the last six months of his life being loved at The Margaret T. Morris Center for memory care.
Don was solid as a rock and will be remembered for his common sense, his godly wisdom, his business mind, his sense of humor, his humble nature, his willingness to lend a helping hand, his far-reaching generosity, and greatest of all, his unwavering faith in God and love
for his family. He was a really great husband, dad and pop.
In 2020, Don was preceded in death by both his devoted wife, Connie, and his granddaughter, Lisa Griggs Hollingsworth; and in 2012 by his brother, Frank (Scooter) Gummeson. He is survived by his daughters, Julie (Steve) Griggs, and Janice (Steve) Snyder;
son, James Gummeson; grandchildren, Carrie (Daniel) Beal, Christopher (Rhea) Griggs, and Joshua (Lizzie) Snyder; 11 great-grandchildren; brother, Dennis Delaney; sisters-in-law, Nancy (Don) Estephan, and Mary Kimball; and many beloved nieces, nephews and dear friends.
Due to COVID-19, no celebration of life is planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the non-profit memory care center, The Margaret T. Morris Center, 878 Sunset Ave., Prescott AZ 86305.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16