Born 1936 in Tarrytown NY. Daughter of the late Michael and Gertrude Bach. She was the beloved wife of the late Herbert C. Fletcher. A resident of Milford CT for 33 years before retiring to Sun City Arizona to enjoy the sunshine. Gretchen always considered it her main job to raise her 5 children and she ran a tight household. The house was always spotless and there was always a hot meal on the table promptly at 5:30 for our Dads arrival home from work.
She loved having coffee and a cigarette with her neighborhood friends or watching the Soaps while vacuuming the whole house during commercials. She loved to sew and spent many hours at it, we often heard ‘fake-cursing’ (she never swore) all along the way. We all got to pick out colors of yarn for each of our Afghans she would knit for us or the grandkids. Gretchen volunteered at Seabreeze Elementary School as a lunchroom aide and then a classroom teacher’s aide allowing her to keep an eye on us and live her childhood dream of being a teacher. She seemed to be everyone’s Mom doling out praise, care, and the occasional stern look to the hooligans but overall, she was loved by everyone she encountered. When we were all out of elementary school, Mom moved on to work for State Farm Insurance in Orange for about 10 years where she really loved being part of a workplace.
Once in AZ she continued to volunteer, but now at the Sun City Library, the St. Clement Church, and as a Faith-Specific volunteer at Banner Health. No matter where she was, she always had an extraordinarily strong network of friends. As far as holidays went, all were special to her, whether it was Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas (especially Christmas), Mom would really strive to make great memories for all of us. We all loved to travel as our Dad would pack up the camper and we would travel the country visiting just about every state and all the sites. We would be sitting in the backseats of the van and marvel at Moms inability to read any map and our Dad letting her try (even though he knew she was not good at it) expectantly waiting for the announcement that we had missed the Exit (again).
Gretchen was predeceased by siblings Suzanne and Michael.
Mother to Bonnie, Edward (Carol), Mark (Kim), Herbert (Debbie) and Paul (Carmen). Grandmother to Jennifer, Danny, Rosalie, Nick, Liza, Brian, Simone, Joseph, and Ashley. Great Grandchildren, Madeline, Ronnie, Julia, Ayden, Jordan and Landyn. A Catholic mass at St Agnus Church Milford, CT Sunday January 3, 2021 10:30am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society to aid in the fight against Pancreatic Cancer.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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