Dolores Guettler

Dolores (Schmidt) Guettler, 93, of Bay City, went home to heaven to be with Jesus and her husband John. She passed away while surrounded by family at the annual Christmas Eve gathering.

Dolores was born on March 5, 1932, to the late Arthur and Laura Schmidt in Bay City, Michigan, where she lived all her life. She attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School and Central High School.

She married John Guettler on May 23, 1953, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bay City. God blessed them with 72 years of marriage before John’s passing this past August. They enjoyed many happy years socializing with family and friends. They enjoyed playing cards and attended polka dances.

Dolores enjoyed volunteering at church by helping with meals and tending the gardens around the church. She spent many hours in her garden raising fruits and vegetables, then canning and freezing all of the produce. What she didn’t need went to neighbors and friends.

Her greatest hobby was knitting mittens, over 200 pairs a year. You would often find her sitting in her chair knitting and taking short snoozes. She would sell some of them at Johnson’s Pumpkin Farm every fall, but most were given away as gifts or donated to worthy causes. She also enjoyed visiting the thrift shops in the area and finding many treasures. She was still driving her big Cadillac around town because she had places to go.

For many years she worked alongside her husband John at their business, Commercial Kitchen Service. Together they developed a prosperous business, allowing them to support many worthwhile causes.

Dolores is survived by four children, 8 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren: Lynne Koch(Bill) and her children, Christopher and Jana Irving; Gary (Brenda) Guettler, their daughter Kaylyn (Derek) Dimaya, and their daughters, Layla and Chloe; Carol (Brad) Histed, their sons, Ryan (Jodi) Histed, and their sons, Emmett and Ryder; Craig (Nicole) Histed, and their daughters, Madalyn and Lakyn; Tony (Angie) Histed; and, Brian (Shannon) Guettler and their children, Danielle (John) Piechowiak and Adam Guettler (Kellee Sears). She is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Caroline Traxler and Lorna (Richard) Dietlein. She is predeceased by her husband, John; her parents, Arthur and Laura Schmidt; her siblings and their spouses, Ira and Annie Schmidt and Shirley and Leslie Gray; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Robert and Caroline Guettler; her brothers-in-law and their wives, Robert (Edith Gorm) Guettler, Donald (Lillian) Guettler, and Maynard (Marianne) Guettler; an infant sister-in-law, Mary Ann Guettler; and her brother-in-law, Kenneth Traxler.

The funeral service will be held on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. at Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, 1010 33rd St., Bay City. Visitation will precede the funeral at the church beginning at 2:00 p.m. A private interment will take place at Floral Gardens Cemetery, 2215 Cass Ave., Bay Ctiy.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Trinity Lutheran Church or Charity. (The charitable organizations will be chosen by the family at a later date.)