Della Marie Hemminger

COLORADO SPRINGS – Della Marie Hemminger, 74, passed away on February 9, 2024, after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

Della was born in Norfolk, Nebraska on August 5, 1949, to Lawrence and Marjorie Heberer. After moving to Colorado as a young child, Della attended Roush Elementary, Clear Lake Jr. High, & Ranum High School. After graduation, she attended Oral Roberts University where she met the love of her life, David (Dave) William Hemminger. Della and Dave were united in marriage on August 15, 1970, in Denver, CO. The early years of their marriage found them living in California, Colorado, and Minnesota before settling in Hoffman Estates, Illinois where they raised their three children. After their children were grown-up and gone, they retired to Colorado Springs, CO after a stopover in Missouri.

Della, during her 53 years of marriage to Dave, had perfected the art of never letting Dave truly understand what she wanted or what he was doing wrong. They went through everything together. Their marriage didn’t waver. They didn’t just survive, they thrived. They were truly in love…true life partners.

Della had three amazing kids: Doug, Daniel and Dina. Della was their strongest advocate and champion, doing everything within her power to ensure that each of them had the best opportunity for success.

Della gave her grandchildren and step-grandchildren a never-ending supply of love and generosity. Much to the chagrin of their parents, Della did exactly what every grandmother is supposed to do to their grandchildren: she spoiled them rotten.

Della was always providing support and encouragement to her siblings as they were to her. When life threw a curveball and things got difficult, a 4-hour phone call was in order. Not all was healed, but it was better. She loved her brother and sister, and they loved her.

Della’s inimitable passion for her hobbies and interests was a trait that we all admired. Besides her family, she loved mountains, sewing, quilting, horses, and making people smile.

Della will be remembered for the goodwill, humor and smiles she brought to everyone she met. She spent more than a decade as a professional clown and her sole focus was to make everyone around her smile and laugh. She was exceptional at it. One of her lifelong role models and heroes, comedian and clown, Red Skelton would be proud.

Della will also be remembered for her generosity, compassion, and remarkable creativity. She loved quilting and sewing, creating 1,000s of handcrafted unique works of art for her friends, family, and charities, asking for nothing in return—table runners, quilts, yoga mat bags, bibs, hot pads, jackets, sweaters, scarves, blankets, t-shirts, stockings, advent calendars, easter baskets, mug rugs, placemats, covid masks, baby caps…and on…and on…and on. Her creativity and love knew no bounds.

Della is survived by her husband of 53 years, Dave, her children Doug (Deena), Daniel (Kerri) and Dina (Dan), grandchildren Alex, Sydney, David, Gavin, Marni and siblings Bill (Susan) and Marian (Bob). Della was preceded in death by her parents.

A celebration of life is being planned for the Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg area in Illinois. Tune into social media for details.

Della was a passionate advocate for supporting, understanding, and teaching children with autism. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO), a nonprofit foundation that, among other things, provides autism support services to students, educators, and parents in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. To read more about the autism services of the NSSEO, see https://www.nsseo.org/services/autism-support-ol. To make a donation to the NSSEO in memory of Della, please go to https://nsseo.revtrak.net/nsseo-foundation/#/v/NSSEO-Foundation-Memorial-Donation-25

Goodbye Della: Wife, Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Friend, Giver.