Delores Diana Setian Bemis, 85, of Red Wing, died Friday, April 4, 2014, in the Deer Crest Memory Care Center, Red Wing, MN.
Born December 13, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Aram and Irene (Thorell) Setian. Delores was baptized and confirmed in the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church on May 29, 1932. She attended Philadelphia schools and was a 1947 graduate of Overbrook High School.
After graduation, Delores was working as an executive secretary at Philadelphia Electric where she met her future husband Frank, who was serving on the U.S.S. Cubera (submarine) at the nearby naval base. Frank and Delores (Setian) were married on February 14, 1953 in Philadelphia. They soon moved to Pickwick near Winona where she held secretary and vice president positions in the Pickwick Parent Teacher Association. In 1970, they moved to Red Wing. The family became members of St. Joseph's Parish, and Delores was confirmed into the Catholic Church during morning mass on April 8, 1973.
Delores was an excellent cook and took first place prize for her rum cake and honorable mention for her jelly Danish pastries in Republican Eagle Cookbook recipe contests. Her banana cream pie made from scratch was the family's favorite. Before her retirement, Delores worked in foodservice at the Red Wing Hospital. Along with her husband Frank, Delores was one of the volunteers that started what is now known as the Humane Society of Goodhue County in the early 1980s. Until the first building was built, she provided temporary homes for many stray, abandoned, sick, or homeless animals in the area.
Her parents, husband Frank, brothers-in-law, Jerome Bemis, James Bemis, Al Bach, Phil Lucas and sister-in-law, Marge Bemis, preceded her in death.
Survivors include four sons, Michael (Jill) of St. Paul, David of Coon Rapids, Steven of Red Wing, and Paul (Ann - Ansun Sun) of Gresham, OR; four grandchildren, Jason, Heidi, Tom - Won-Jun, and Nathaniel; three sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Bach of Minneapolis, Virginia (John) Kobe of Minneapolis, and Edith Lucas of Parker, CO; and several nieces and nephews.
Private family interment will be held at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Humane Society of Goodhue County.