Gilda G. Witters

Gilda Grace Witters (nee Merli) passed away peacefully on January 2, 2023, four days before her 99th birthday, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey at Symphony/Harmony Village where she spent the last sixteen months of her life receiving compassionate care.

Gilda was born on January 6, 1924 in Chester, Pennsylvania to Dominic and Maria Merli.  She was raised during the Depression and came of age during World War II.  Her first job was in the defense industry during the war.  While celebrating VJ Day in August 1945 she met the man she would later marry in May 1946. Together with her husband, Dean Witters, she raised and nurtured two children, Kent and Karen, in Southern New Jersey. 

Gilda was the perfect homemaker.  She could put delicious meals together (never using recipes!) and she was an excellent seamstress.  Always a fashionable dresser, she was employed by Loehmann’s for twelve years where she oversaw the designer apparel collections in the store.  Gilda loved her books and just about any sweet treat but was never one to sit idly by… “makes one old” she would say.  She was always one to tell things as they are and was a woman of keen wit and wisdom.

Gilda is survived by her son, Kent, daughter, Karen (husband Scott Johnson), and adored granddaughter Laura.  She was preceded in death by her husband Dean Witters, parents Dominic and Maria Merli, brother Vincent Merli, and sister Doris Delgott.

The family would like to acknowledge the caring kindness of Nancy Walsh (Symphony/Harmony Village), Vitality Hospice, in particular Andrew and Samantha, and neighbor Sharon Defino and her family.

Relatives and friends may visit with the family Friday, January 20th from 10 am to 11 am at the Gaskill-Brown Funeral Home, 33 West Maple Avenue, Merchantville. Funeral service will follow at 11 am. Interment in Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery will be private.

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