Longtime Nebraska Society member E. Thomas Gumbert, 82, died May 11 in St. Joseph, Mo. A descendant of Pilgrim John Alden, he joined the Nebraska Society in 1963. He served as Governor of the Nebraska Society from 1969 to 1971.
From the Omaha World-Herald, Sunday, May 14, 2006:
E. Thomas Gumbert
GUMBERT-E. Thomas, 82, St. Joseph, Mo., died Thursday, May 11, 2006, at his home after battling lung cancer. Born April 3, 1924 in St. Joseph, he lived in Tampa, Fla., and Omaha until returning to St. Joseph. He graduated from Central High School; Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.; received an MBA from the University of Chicago. In 1982, he married Angela Pavetti Sharpe, who survives of the home.
Mr. Gumbert owned and operated the Gumbert Executive Exchange in Omaha from 1954-1979 and Gumbert Exchange in St. Joseph from 1979 until his death. He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, where he served as an usher; he was past District Governor and past President of the St. Joseph Toastmasters #1439; member and past Governor of the Nebraska Society of Mayflower Decendents, Omaha; member of the St. Joseph Writers' Guild in St. Joseph; St. Joseph Lodge #78 A.F & A.M; Moila Shrine Temple; he was a Thirty-second Degree Scottish Rite Mason; founder of the Midwest Winemaking Society of Omaha; and he was an avid traveler.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Edgar Albert and Winifred Beatrice (Estes) Gumbert. Survivors include three daughters, Suzanne Sowada, Odessa, Fla., Cynthia Parshall, Tampa, Fla., Dr. Shirley "Sha" Gumbert Balizet, San Antonio, Texas; sister, Patricia Hollabaugh, Lubbock, Texas; five grandchildren, Dan Parshall, Sarah Goff, Angie Dickson, Carly Sowada and Joseph Sowada; and two great grandchildren, Ethan Dickson and Evangelina Goff.
Services 1 p.m. Monday, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Private Interment Mount Auburn Cemetery at a later date. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. Memorial gifts may be sent to the Ralph Smedly Foundation of Toastmasters International at Box 9052, Mission Viejo, CA 92690.
Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory, 5005 Frederick Blvd., St. Joseph, MO 64506.
