Cordelia Mary Gillett

MOUNT VERNON - Cordelia Gillett lived a remarkable 95-year adventure of extraordinary faith, strength, grace, courage, self-sacrifice, devotion and love of beauty. From her earliest days her presence left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of knowing her. A young, modest, kind, humble and generous little girl, she was honored with the title, “The Girl Most Like the Blessed Virgin Mary” at her local Catholic school.

Born into a large Catholic farming family in central Wisconsin, Cordelia’s love for her Savior Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother and the Church He founded was the guiding force of her life. This devotion shone through her countless acts of sacrifice and service as well as her boundless joy in her vocation as wife and mother. She treasured the beauty of God’s creation, delighting in the majesty of the earth. Her child-like wonder at His majesty never waned; she was especially fascinated by His power revealed in great storms, hurricanes, volcanoes and in the wild creatures of His making-bears, mountain lions and more.

Nicknamed “Dooie” by her youngest sister, Cordelia grew up during the Depression. By the age of 10, she was already driving a tractor on the family farm, contributing to the livelihood of her large family. When she was just 11, her father died in a farming accident, leaving her mother with 11 children to raise and a farm to manage. Cordelia and her siblings all rose to the challenge with characteristic strength and trust in God.

At 14, she entered St. Rose Convent but later, while continuing her education, she returned home to the farm to help her mother milk the cows and bring in the harvest. By her early twenties, she was traveling around the country as an auditor for Employers’ Insurance, an exciting, glamorous and unusual role for a young woman in the 1950s and one she greatly enjoyed.

Cordelia met Phil Gillett, a widower with two young daughters, at a party in the home of a priest who was a mutual friend. Six months later, on the Feast of the Holy Rosary, Phil and Dooie married, with her new little daughters, beautiful Patricia and Anne, serving as flower girls.

She and Phil treasured their Catholic faith and endeavored to pass it along to their children, grandchildren, extended family members and others. Her life was marked by hospitality, humble service and a heart for the poor. She entertained often, setting an elegant and beautiful table for friends and family, spreading love and creating Christian community with marvelous sit-down dinners for multitudes. She was active in pro-life work; she alleviated poverty by establishing and leading the Circle of Joy, collecting day-old bread and dented cans and distributing them to homes; she helped resettle Laotian refugees; she brought Holy Communion to the sick; each week she washed by hand the linens and vestments for Holy Mass at the parish; and she modeled constant generosity. She befriended and loved every priest she met, ever grateful for their gifts of their lives so that she could receive Jesus in the sacraments. She attended daily Mass for much of her life.

Her family long ago lost count of the number of souls who, through her faithful witness, were inspired either to discover Christ and His Church or to grow in their love of the God of our salvation. So many people in her last days reached out to express how she was their inspiration in so many things-how to run a loving home and raise a happy family, how to worship God, how to follow God and seek and answer His call, and how to suffer with grace and trust.

Phil, who had grown up in the Rockies, introduced Cordelia to his beloved mountains, and together they hiked and climbed and explored the summits and hidden valleys of Rocky Mountain National Park. A sleet-and-lightning storm on a high mountain with little children straggling among the rocks was no match for Dooie’s practical good sense; she would whip out black garbage bags, pre-cut with holes for heads and arms (perhaps huddling under an overhang until the lightning passed), and joyfully continue on.

She loved to travel. When Phil, a University of Wisconsin math professor, accepted a 15-month appointment teaching calculus in Malaysia, Dooie eagerly joined him in the adventure and immediately set to work teaching English to young Malaysian women. She and Phil delighted in exploring the area and even trekked to the Mount Everest base camp. They retired to their beloved Rocky Mountains where they continued to hike and explore well into their later years.

Her long journey with Alzheimer’s disease was marked by humble serenity and trust. After Phil’s death in 2012, she spent time in the Wisconsin, Alaska and Maryland homes of her children, eventually settling in early 2016 for the rest of her life in her daughter Joan’s Wisconsin home. Even as the disease took her autonomy, her mobility and her speech, she spoke wordlessly for many years through her gentle and radiant eyes, abundantly overflowing with love and gratitude and inspiring many souls who grew to love her even more in these years. She continued to receive Jesus in the Eucharist up to the last day of her life. In the face of human suffering, “Offer it up!” was her mantra, but she shared with only a very few that she prayed as a saint would pray that Christ would allow her to suffer for the conversion of sinners, the needs of souls, and for love of priests who bring Jesus to the world.

Cordelia drew her last breath on a beautiful autumn evening. She is survived by her children, Patricia Jane (Rick) Sommersberger, Anne Catherine Speckhard, Maria Cordelle (Andy) Santo, Joan Marie (Patrick) Carey, John Robert (Michele) Gillett, Bernard John (Sally) Gillett, Mary Clare (Steve) Kemper and Robert Francis Gillett. Cordelia is also survived by 33 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren: Patricia's children, Rachel Anne (Shawn Nytes; children, Sophia, Amelia, Levi, Abigail and Bryce), Rebekah Diane (Adam Schroeder; children, Siena and Adeline) and Heidi Maria (B.J. Harry; children, Olivia, Greyson and Otto); Anne's children, Leah Catherine, Jessica Carol Anne (Taylor Sloan; children, Katarina and Daniel) and Daniel Thomas Theodore (Anna; child, Elias); Joan's children, John Paul (Nicola; children, Elanor, Cordelia, Adrian and Gabriel), Thomas James (Sonia; children, Benedict, David, Nicholas, Emma and Zélie), Peter Francis, Michael Joseph, Stephen Andrew (Abbey; children, Matthew and Sophia) and Catherine Maria; John's children, Philip Steven, Mary Cordelia, Andrew Jerome, Monica Rose, Margaret Michele, Teresa Maria and Anna Grace; Bernard's children, Katherine Cordelia, Claire Margaret (Daniel Miller), Mary Rose (Kip Curtis; baby in utero), Elise Anne (Cristiano Palazzo; baby in utero) and Jeremy Bernard; Mary's children, Robert Francis (Delaney), Joseph Anthony (Catie; children, Rose, Esther and Dominic), Daniel John, Michael Philip and Thomas Benedict (Olivia); and Robert's children, Benjamin Michael, Kevin Patrick (Laura), Madeleine Mary and Margaret Veronica. She was preceded in death by her parents, Felix and Ethel Adams; siblings, Herman, Margaret, Robert, Father Benedict, Frances, Eugene, Arnold, Bernard, Marie and Sister Cordelle; husband, Philip; daughter-in-law, Laura Gillett (Robert’s wife); and grandson-in-law, Matthew Orth (Rachel’s husband).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at ST. MARY'S OF PINE BLUFF CATHOLIC CHURCH, 3673 County Road P, Cross Plains, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2025, with Father Michael Wanta presiding. Burial will be held at Estes Valley Memorial Gardens. Recitation of the Rosary will be held at the church from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday, September 26, 2025. Visitation will be held at the church from 9 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson Camacho Mount Horeb
Funeral & Cremation Care
500 N. Eighth St.
(608) 437-5077