Mimi Gonulsen

Mimi Rutherford Gonulsen, age 76, died in her home in Denver, Colo., on Sept. 28, 2023.

She was born on Feb. 11, 1947, in Pike County, Kentucky to Robert and Virginia Rutherford. She grew up in the hills of Kentucky in a religious home with her parents and brother, Bobby David Rutherford. It was there she embraced her lifelong Christian faith and learned from her parents the value of looking after others.

She moved to Springfield, Ill., with husband Aydin Gonulsen in the 1970s. The couple had three children, and Mimi was an instrumental part of Aydin’s successful career as soccer coach and athletic director at the Sangamon State University and the University of Illinois-Springfield. Members of Aydin’s teams would come to the house for meals and the sense of home that Mimi would provide.

No one ever left Mimi’s home hungry.

She worked as a school teacher and with the state of Illinois while raising her daughters. Later in life, she spent time living and traveling with family, calling Colorado, Illinois and Iowa home at various times. Mimi was an eagerly influential figure in her grandson Sebastian’s formative years in Iowa. She spent the last years of her life in Denver, enjoying quality time with her daughter Amanda.

Mimi was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Virginia Rutherford; brother, Bobby David Rutherford; daughter Katherine Louise Gonulsen; and ex-husband, Aydin Gonulsen.

She is survived by daughter Peri (Mitch) Pugh and grandson Sebastian Pugh; daughter Amanda Gonulsen and partner Aaron Hodgin and his children, Aidan and Solenne; and nephew Rocky Rutherford. 

Funeral services will take place Oct. 5 at Dahlia Street Church of Christ in Denver at. Burial services will be at Golden Cemetery in Golden, Colo.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dahlia Street Church of Christ at https://dahliachurch.org/ or by clicking the link below.