Dennis Gotshall

Dennis L. Gotshall passed away on Saturday, November 28, 2020, at the Chambersburg Hospital. Dennis was born on January 19, 1944, in Pillow, PA. The son of the late Carl and Mildred (Latsha) Gotshall, he has two older sisters, Shirley Helwig (William) of Millersburg and Dolores Falck (Charles, deceased) of Brookville, Maryland and little brother Jimmy (deceased).

Dennis graduated from Upper Dauphin High School with the class of 1961. He then attended Shippensburg State College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1965. He was offered a job with the Shippensburg School District and while teaching, earned his Master’s Degree in Education in 1968. His 32-year teaching career started at Central School on Burd Street, continued at J.W. Kline in Leesburg, where he was the only male teacher in the group of six, and concluded at James Burd Elementary School where he retired in 1996. He was known affectionately by all of his students as Mr. G.

He bought the Dan Hershey Auctioneering Service in 1989 and ran his business with honesty and integrity. He had a great group of employees that included retired men and women and even his granddaughter, Becky who would come after school to be the runner.

In 2006 he sold his business and finally became a man of leisure. He enjoyed working in his yard, wintering in Florida, and visiting family and friends all over the USA.

He was a real family man. He flew to California to help his mother-in-law, Audrey with her yard work, painting buildings and overall, anything else she needed. They were great friends. He would also call his father-in-law, Harry every evening on the telephone just to see how his day went. Overall, he cared so much about his family and friends and was genuinely interested in their lives.

Dennis is survived by his wife, Sisser Donna (Gettel) Gotshall. They had a 40-plus year marriage that was filled with so many fun and exciting memories but also some sad times. One being in 1997 when their son, Douglas Gotshall, passed away. It was during this time that both he and Sisser formed an extra special bond with their granddaughter, Becky (Gotshall) Koser. Becky’s bond with her Pap only grew stronger through the years as they went on trips, shared stories, and when he would take her and Grandma wherever they wanted to go. Including Macy’s on Thanksgiving night to shop for jewelry.

He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Jeannie Madden and her husband Jerry, his step-son, Jerry P. Howell and his family, and his daughter-in-law, Tammy Koser and her husband Fred.

Dennis was a member of Cumberland Valley Lodge #315 F & A.M., Harrisburg Consistory, Shippensburg Scottish Rite Club, Tall Cedars Valley Forest #145, a life member of the Hub City Club, Shippensburg, and Shippensburg Investment Group. He volunteered delivering Meals on Wheels and enjoyed playing pinochle with his friends.

Dennis loved the holidays and enjoyed baking and giving away his famous raisin-filled cookies and decorating the house, including this year for Christmas. His lights are burning bright on Brown Road as a reminder of how much he loved calling Shippensburg home.

In lieu of flowers and in memory of all the dogs and cats he welcomed into his home over the years, please make donations to Better Days Animal League, P.O. Box 57, Shippensburg, PA 17257 or Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter, 5051 Letterkenny Road West, Chambersburg, PA 17201.

The Fogelsanger-Bricker Funeral Home & Crematorium, Inc., Shippensburg, has been entrusted with his funeral arrangements. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, services will follow at a later date. Online condolences may be expressed at www.fogelsanger-brickerfuneralhome.com.