Rev. Max Douglas Gumm

Reverend Max Douglas Gumm, 76, passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon, February 20, 2011, at Arbor Springs memory care facility, surrounded by his family. A visitation will be held on Thursday, February 24, 2011, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. The memorial service will be on Friday, February 25, at Church of the Brethren in Prairie City, Iowa, at 10:30 am, with his inurnment at Jefferson Cemetery following the service.

Born in Jefferson, Iowa, June 7, 1934, to Earnest “Ray” and Wilma (Jones) Gumm, Max graduated from Cooper High School in 1952 and started a family with his first wife Norita Carson (now Elwood) on a farm near Yale. Called into the ministry by the Panora Church of the Brethren, he earned a B.S. from McPherson College in 1965, and a Master of Divinity at Bethany Theological Seminary in 1968. He held pastoral positions in Madison, KS, Union City, OH, Cando, ND, Prairie City, IA, and Ankeny, IA, and served as Associate District Executive of the Church of the Brethren, Iowa-Minnesota District, Regional Director of Church World Service/CROP in Des Moines, and Director of Development and Alumni Relations at his alma mater McPherson College. During chaplaincy training at the Children's Hospital in Omaha, he met and married JoAnne Davis Howry of Papillion, Nebraska, and finished his career as a chaplain at the Omaha Correctional Center. In 2001, Max was Moderator of the Church of the Brethren Northern Plains district conference. Max and JoAnne retired to Mountain Home, Arkansas, where they lived until her death from cancer in 2008.

Max had an uncanny ability to find something or someone in common with anybody, so he “never met a stranger” as family said. During his robust life, he enjoyed farming, house renovating, car repair, woodworking, and family genealogy, and was usually whistling a tune.

Max is survived by his children, Doug (Diane) Gumm and Tim (Carol) Gumm of Ankeny, IA, Jeff (Sharon) Gumm of Clive, IA, Alan (Gayle) Gumm of Mt Pleasant, MI, Mary (Habib) Issah of Iowa City, IA, Cindy Howry Laster of Blue Springs, MO, Jim (Sabrina) Howry of Snellville, GA and Sue Howry of Omaha, NE; 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, JoAnne, his brother, Estel Gumm, and sister, Ramona Scheuermann.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to Heifer International (www.heifer.org) or Church of the Brethren Northern Plains District (www.northernplainsdistrict.com).

Online condolences may be made at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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