Mary Elizabeth “Sis” Gatiss, age 86, of 109 W. Chocolay Street, Munising, died at 6:25 a.m. on Monday, August 25, 2008 at the Tendercare Health Center in Munising. She was born in Chatham on February 19, 1922 to J. Howard and Verna (Bauman) Gatiss. Sis graduated from Wm.G. Mather High School in 1939 and then moved to Detroit. During WWII, she worked in Defense Plants in Detroit and also in California. Sis then worked as a waitress at resorts in Palm Springs, California, Sun Valley, Idaho, and at the Grand Canyon. She returned to the Midwest and went to work at the Gateway Inn in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin. Sis left there to come home to care for her parents. Following the death of her father, Sis stayed in Munising to help her mother. She was an extremely devoted caregiver to Verna following her illness. Sis was a member of the United Methodist Church and she loved to travel.
She is survived by her siblings – Pat (Bill) Cromell of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Robert (Lois) Gatiss of Munising, Molly (Robert Hillier) Stephens of Mableton, Georgia, Donald Gatiss of Munising, and Suzette Bennett of Mason City, Iowa; cousins – Mary Lynn Weber, Bill Bauman, and Bob Bauman; and numerous nieces and nephews. Sis was preceded in death by her parents Howard and Verna, brother Jack Gatiss, sister Sally Ross, and nephews Jack Gatiss and David Gatiss.
