Delores Gerrits

Delores Gerrits, age 87 of Kaukauna, passed away peacefully in her home on September 21st, 2025 of a broken heart just 2 months after the passing of her beloved husband, Richard.

Delores was born on October 15, 1937 to the late Bernard and Elizabeth (Daul) Biese in Kaukauna, WI. This is where she met the love of her life Richard and they married on October 26, 1957 at Holy Cross Church in Kaukauna, WI where they resided until 1972 when they moved to Greenville. Upon retiring, they moved to their cottage on Lake Gogebic in Marenisco, MI where they spent 23 years in the heaven of the north woods. Delores enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and found it perfect for diving into her most favorite pastime, reading. When her nose wasn’t buried in a book, she enjoyed visiting with their closest neighbors and doing crafts. Her greatest joy was bringing her three grandchildren to the cottage and spoiling them rotten. Delores was an active member of the Lake Gogebic Fireflies. In 2019, they moved back to Kaukauna to be closer to family.

After working part time and raising their daughter, Delores earned her teacher’s certificate from Outagamie County Teacher’s Collage. After graduation she taught at St. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Hortonville while continuing her education and earning her bachelor’s degree from UW Oshkosh. She remained at St. Peter and Paul her entire career.    

Delores is survived by daughter Paula (Mark) Huelsbeck; 3 grandchildren, Ben (Aly) Huelsbeck of Menasha, Ethan Huelsbeck and Abby of Appleton, Aubrey (Keith) Rabideau of Kaukauna; great grandchildren, Awnya and Kavin Rabideau; sisters JoAnn Buechler, Patricia (Burt) McIntyre; brother Daniel Biese; brother-in-law Lance Goetzman; sisters-in-law Carol (Gerhartz) Biese and Viola (Gerrits)Dickrell along with many nieces and nephews.

Besides her parents, Delores was preceded in death by her husband Richard, her brothers Richard, Gene, and Paul; sisters MaryLee Rosenow and Donna Goetzman; in-laws Dorothy (Eickler) Biese, Betty (Thein) Biese, Rita (Hoffman) Biese, Ervin Rosenow, Gene Buechler, Melvin Gerrits, Agnes Gerrits, Loraine and Gayland Otto, Ethel and Eugene Walker, and Ambrose Dickrell.

A Funeral Mass for Delores will be held on Friday, October 10, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Cross Church, 309 Desnoyer St., Kaukauna. Visitation will begin at the church at 10:00 a.m. and will continue until the time of the Mass. Delores will be laid to rest in Holy Cross Cemetery. For online condolences, please visit www.verkuilenfh.com.

A special thanks to her wonderful neighbors; Lucas and Sara, Jim and Maggie, Mark and Julie, Zach and Shayla, Jared and Alicia and Jerry.