Charlene Joyce (DeSantis) Gebel, 71, passed away March 28, 2018 at the Winter Haven Hospital. She was born to the late Charles and Anna (Guldin) DeSantis at Reading Hospital on May 10, 1946 and grew up in Pottstown, PA with her sister, Judith.
During her childhood, she was very active in the Girl Scouts and loved baking cookies and singing.
She graduated from Pottstown High School and from the keypunch program at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, DE.
After graduation, she worked as a keypunch operator at the Dover Post Office, where she met her husband, Harry. They were married at Holy Cross in Dover in 1969
While raising their three children, she was a homemaker. She served for many years as a Girl Scout leader for her daughters and a den mother for her son.
After the children were older, she took a job as a bookkeeper at Nichols until the store closed. After that she worked in management at Fox Theatres in Dover for many years.
After retirement Charlene moved to Florida with her family in 2009, and lived in Orlando and then Davenport.
Keeping busy, she loved creating memory wire bracelets, taking hours to line up the perfect beads in the “right order.” She loved musicals and watching old Hollywood classics like "Father Goose" and Hallmark mysteries. Charlene also treasured connecting with family and friends on Facebook and loved picking out the “perfect” birthday message.
She was a longtime parishioner of Holy Cross Church in Dover before she moved to Florida and loved praying the Rosary and Divine Chaplet each day.
Her warm heart and generosity will be remembered by everyone who knew her. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Harry, on March 11, 1998.
She is survived by her sister, Judith Mair; her children: Harry Gebel, Melissa Gebel, and Heather Orozco; her son-in-law Ricardo Orozco; Stepdaughter Patricia Gebel Federer; and her beloved grandchildren, "Nana’s Angels": Ricardo Orozco, Brian Orozco, Moriah Orozco, and Harrison Gebel-Lehto.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 9, 2018 at Holy Cross Church,
631 S. State St. Dover, De. Friends may call Sunday April 8, 2018 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Funeral Home of Michael J. Ambruso 1175 S. State St. Dover. Condolences can be made via www.ambruso.com.