Keith Melvin Gumowitz

My father, Keith Melvin Gumowitz, passed away on April 4, 2024 after a long battle with cancer. He left this world minutes after hearing his sisters’ love on the phone, while holding hands (as he loved to do in life) with both his daughter & his best friend, his granddaughter & son-in-law nearby.

Born on March 10, 1947 to Joseph & Charlotte Gumowitz, Dad was raised in Kansas City, Missouri along with his younger sisters Ronna & Lecy. A smart & popular kid, he was a model son & brother. Lecy remembers that growing up, he was always her “hero” & Ronna recalls that even when he faced challenges throughout life, he was always kind & loving above all.

He spent most of his adult life working for Graybar Electric, where his coworkers described him as sarcastic, intelligent, & witty. A hard worker & committed employee, he worked right up until his body insisted it was time to retire in July 2023.

He met my mom, Mickey, at a deli in 1981, they married the next year, & I was born 3 years after that. Gift giving was his love language & he used to send her roses every week. He loved to play cards with her & their friends (though his skill was exceeded by his enthusiasm), & they were on a hot air balloon chase crew for a couple of years. They also spent a lot of time sailing with her parents, Tom & Jo, whom he quickly grew to love as well. Though they divorced in 1989, they maintained a deep respect & love for one another, both as parents & as people. For the rest of his life, Dad would introduce her as “my best friend”.

A big kid himself, Dad adored his 4 nieces & 2 nephews. He would bring bagels to the ones local to KC almost every week during their childhoods. Many family gatherings he spent in the basement with the kids playing “Shark”, a sort of tag/hide-&-seek combo complete with silly sound effects.

Once Dad loved you, he loved you big & loud. He supported my friends just like he supported me, whether it was sending Harry Potter gifts to my friend Shayne, taking my best friend Drew to dinner, or just sending his love to my person Liv. My friend Alex, another of his favorites, gave him the nickname Papa Gum, a title he wore with pride & eagerly claimed as his moniker as a grandfather. My husband Evan had not only his love but also his admiration. Evan is an insomniac & my dad was a very early bird (often arriving at work before 6 am) & they used to both intentionally & unintentionally meet at Jerry’s Cafe for a pre-dawn breakfast. They were there when Evan asked for Dad’s blessing to propose, which he readily & happily gave. Whenever asked about his family, Dad always included Evan on this list & bragged about what a kind & wonderful human his daughter had found.

Most of all, my dad loved me. When I was a kid he loved to take me to the zoo & he carried me on his shoulders until I was far too big for comfort because I would beg “Again Daddy!”. On my days with him we loved to watch Bob Ross paint happy little trees while I fell asleep on his lap. He would make up stories about Princess Emily Ashley & even made me a picture book with some of them. He shared with me his love of Sesame Street, the Muppets, & Fraggle Rock. Every year we would go to the Renaissance Festival where we became friends with the performers (& I eventually briefly became one). He loved classic oldies & I have distinct memories of him singing “American Pie” in a goofy voice just to make me laugh & imitating Dylan singing “Just Like a Woman”. He instilled in me his love of books & reading. We spent many hours in Borders bookstore picking out our selections & starting them in the cafe.

As I got older, some things changed while some remained the same. We still watched anything by Jim Henson (including an annual Christmas Eve viewing of Muppet Christmas Carol while eating Chinese food). We still discussed books & swapped our favorites. Politics, civil liberties, & human rights became topics of discussion; he was so excited for me when I could vote in my first election. We celebrated when Obama was elected & cried together when the next was. We loved to go out to eat & have steak (& single malt scotch until I got sober in 2018, at which point both my parents quit drinking in solidarity). He also loved to cook & would make huge batches of soups, chilis, & stews which he would bring to Mom & me. He loved a good joke, especially if it had a bad pun. He always loved on my menagerie of rescue animals & my big mutt Bruce was his favorite. He loved to go to the dog park with us or just snuggle Bruce on the couch while watching a movie. If I was going to pick Dad up, I would have Bruce in the car whenever feasible & both of their faces would light up when they saw each other.

Dad was also unabashedly proud of me. Whether I was doing theatre or waiting tables or selling insurance, he thought I hung the moon & would tell anyone who would listen all about me. When I was in my downward spiral, he was still constant & unwavering in his faith in me & love for me. When I found myself & became established in my recovery, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d have burst from the pride. He further supported me by funding my yoga teacher training & was thrilled that I finally found my calling helping people by doing something I loved.

When I became a mother, he told me often how overjoyed he was to see me so blissful & fulfilled in my new role. He was ecstatic to become a grandfather when Zoe arrived, or as he called her, Gumdrop. He loved to sing her silly, made up songs, play peek-a-boo, & make nonsense noises for her to imitate. His health began to significantly decline right when she was born & I know he wanted so much more time with her. I’m so grateful that her laughter & babbles were some of the last things he heard. She will know him from the stories we tell, & when we watch Sesame Street or read a good book.

When I was pregnant, Dad told me that he thought that was what I was put on Earth for—to be a mother. Though I didn’t say anything at the time, as a feminist I found the comment somewhat offensive. But now when I look at my baby, I’m overcome by the kind of big love that is beyond the scope of words. I want everyone to know it because I want to share that joy. & now I know that’s how my dad felt about me. We both found light in our daughters that made us better people, & because of that we leave the world a little brighter than we found it. Anyone who met my father can tell you that he just exuded love. The love lives on.

He is survived by his sister Ronna Nussbaum, her husband Larry, & their children, Jered, Ashlyn, Jennifer, & Alex, his sister Lecy Callender, her husband Galen, & their children Molly & Emily, his best friend Mickey McCracken, his son-in-law Evan Culp, & his granddaughter Zoe Rose Culp. Most of all, he is survived by me, his daughter, Katharine Molly Culp. I love you, Papa.

Services will be held at Longview Cemetery, 12700 SE Raytown Road, Kansas City, MO 64149 on April 17th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make donations in his honor to either KC Pet Project or Literacy KC, two causes close to his heart.