Louis William Gula's Obituary
On April 16, the feast of St. Bernadette of Lourdes, Louis William Gula of Remus died. Louis, the youngest child of Joseph and Mary Gula, was born on February 13, 1939 and Baptized on March 15, 1939. Lou attended St. Joseph minor seminary in Grand Rapids and graduated from major seminary in 1964, moving eventually to the Mt. Pleasant area and then Klackling Creek where he met his wife, Arlene. In 1973, Lou married Arlene (McKay) Gula moving to Remus in 1977, raising their daughter and Arlene’s children. Lou and Arlene loved to travel by RV, planes, trains, and especially their Honda Gold Wing. They also instilled a love of camping on the family, the kids carrying on the long tradition of spending time in the out of doors; Lou had a particular knack of visiting the campers exactly at meal times. He also loved discovering the treasures of his basement and property through the eyes of his grandchildren, leading them to find all sorts of mischief. Lou’s brother lured him into family genealogy by the late 80’s and they both traveled to the Old Country to meet with long-lost cousins and relatives. Lou happily returned several times, the last with his daughter after the death of his wife in 2015. In 2017, following major heart surgery, Lou passed on his love of travel when he accompanied the youngest grandsons to Italy, carrying on the mischief when he was discovered purchasing their first beer. In 2019, Lou married Alice Mary (Annis) Gula where the newlyweds laughed, played cards, prayed the Rosary, and watched the deer roam outside while the world shut down around them, a light in their home for eachother. With the love and support of his daughter, stepdaughters, and stepsons, Lou recovered from a broken pelvis, learning to walk again with the family by his side. Louis was preceded in death by his brother, Joseph; wife, Arlene; son, Jeffrey, and daughter, Sharon. Carrying on his memory are his bride, Alice Mary, sister Dorothy Stark, children from his first marriage: Kristina (Robert) Beers, James (Mary) McKay, John (Toni) McKay, Jerry McKay, Dorothy (Steve) Simon; Children from his second marriage: Veronica (Bob) Costie, Deena (Mike) Anderson, Jim (Sue) Annis, Doug Annis, and Mary Jenkins; 3 nieces, 13 grandsons, 8 grandaughters, and 22 great grandchildren. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Michael’s, Remus, on Thursday, April 22nd , at 11:00 am. Visitation will be held at the church Wednesday evening, April 21st, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, with a Rosary Service at 6:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Michael’s School Foundation or Mel Trotter Ministries, Grand Rapids.
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