Constance Umstad

Constance (neé Ortega-Delgado) Umstad - January 1922 to May 2021

She was a bright star until the very end; her luster never wore thin; her energy never faltered until she passed on Friday, May 28, at her home in Collierville, Tennessee.  She was 99 years old.  Connie, as she was known to friends, was loved by many whose lives she touched from coast to coast and beyond.  Her zest for life and invincible spirit left her children and grandchildren in awe.  Just the week before she passed, she reported that she felt, “absolutely marvelous!”   And so, we learned to expect nothing less. That said, it didn’t take much to make her happy:  whether digging in her garden; sewing the latest fashion; dreaming up a new project; reading the current best seller; watching an old movie; talking politics, or tackling newly discovered technology -- she was buoyant.  Life was good.  She thanked God for every single day.

“Home" for half of Connie’s life was Phoenixville, PA, but Ohio, California, and Tennessee captured her for a while, too.  The daughter of Mexican immigrants, she studied well and worked hard for a living until she married in 1944 and had six children.  Then she really learned what ‘hard’ was.  But, once again, there was no greater joy for Connie than being a mom — a role she wholeheartedly embraced.   The last half century of her life she enjoyed traveling with her children and grandchildren:  sunbathing in the Dominican Republic, enjoying Gordon Ramsey’s culinary delights in England, visiting landmarks in California and Nevada, gaining insight into her heritage in Mexico and most recently cruising the Caribbean and more.  She loved every site and every mile.

She was а woman of light and those who knew her will remember her for the rest of their lives.

Connie was the daughter of the late Josefa Ortega and Francisco Delgado, Jalisco, Mexico and is survived by her children: Aleta Foulds (Ron Johnson); Linda Barton (Hodge); Susan Baldwin (Richard); Sally Jacob (Drew); Cindy Grider (Tim); and Samuel Delgado in addition to grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Not to be forgotten is her American family: the late Leonard and Eleanore Reising, of Lorain, Ohio, their children and grandchildren.

On Monday, June 14, 2021 a viewing will precede a Catholic Funeral Service at 10:30 a.m. at the Devlin Rosmos Kepp & Gatcha Funeral Home, 517 Main St, Phoenixville, PA 19460, where flowers can be sent. Alternatively,  a donation to one of Connie’s favored charities is welcome: Boys Town, 14100 Crawford St., Boys Town, NE  68010 (https://www.boystown.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research, 262 Danny Thomas Place,  Memphis, TN 38105 (https://www.stjude.org).

A private burial will follow the funeral service.