Matthew D. Guminski, 88, died peacefully on October 30, 2014 in Bellevue, WA, thirty days shy of his 89th birthday.Matthew was born in Worcester, on November 30, 1925, a son of the late Kazimer and Viola (Hlodnicki) Guminski, both immigrants of Poland. He attended St. Mary’s School in Worcester and graduated from Commerce High School in Worcester in 1944, where he played clarinet in the school band and orchestra. He also attended night classes at Worcester Boys’ Trade School while working as a machinist at Worcester Pressed Steel Company where he met and married the love of his life, Doris I. Dawe. Matthew worked as a gas fitter for Commonwealth Gas Company in Worcester for over 25 years before retiring in 1987. He was a former member of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, where he served on the vestry and also St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he sang in the choir. As a young man he played a fife as a member of a fife and drum corps and enjoyed traveling around New England performing. Matt liked to go bowling and enjoyed working in his yard and vacationing in Maine. He also was a good all-around dancer and could dance an enviable polka. Matt was proud of his Polish heritage and could converse in Polish and Russian when the occasion arose and enjoyed it immensely. Matt lived in Bellevue, WA for the last two and a half years.

Matthew is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Doris I. (Dawe) Guminski; his two children, Lynne D. Troy and her husband, Walter of Worcester and Lois C. Bennett and her husband, Gregg of Bellevue, WA; and his two grandchildren, Scott and Kathryn Bennett; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his two brothers, Daniel Guminski and Edward Guminski (killed in action in 1944) and by his two sisters, Helen Pacek and Charlotte Gallagher. Known as Matt to friends and family, he will be remembered for his love of family and life, his cheery disposition and his mischievous smile that he retained throughout his life.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Matthew’s family on Sunday, November 9, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street, Holden. A funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. in the funeral home. Burial in Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton will be private. Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to either of the following; UW Foundation. The Jill Bennett Endowed Lectureship in Breast Cancer. Donations may be mailed to UW Medicine Advancement, ATTN: Olena Nyzhnykevych Box 358045, Seattle, WA