|
Gretchen died in Sandpoint, Idaho on November 21. 2014. She attended Michigan State and eventually received a doctorate in sociology. She and husband William Hellar relocated to Sandpoint, Idaho, where they founded Available Hardware Supply. Gretchen became Executive Director of the North Idaho Special Services Agency and served as mayor of Sandpoint from 2008-2011. She was known in her community for her dedication to human rights and social justice, and to the promotion of the arts through her endowment.
|
Bob Cope
Gretchen was little, but she was tough...and a ray of shining light in Home Room. She's sure to be missed by many in addition to me! She did a lot with her life.
Malcolm Love
Gretchen was one of our small group of very close best friends who did just about everything together in high school, and was always a joy to be around.
I was fortunate to have rekindled communications via email with her just in the past few years. Our emails were only periodic since Gretchen seemed to be always on the go, and often sent a closing line in her emails, "have to go, I feel a painting coming on", or "I must meditate". I had become disappointed in not being able to elicit a response from her for quite some time now, but this very sad news is not the explaination for which I had hoped.
I have thought a lot about Gretchen over the years and was so pleased to have located her and gotten to know her again, at least a little.
Malcolm Love
Diane White (Whittier-Neely)
Gretchen was one of my best friends in High School! I wanted to visit her when we took an RV trip out to Wyoming & Idaho this summer, but I couldn't find her on our Class of "61 list anymore, so I had no address or phone number. Now I know why!! I wish I hadn't waited for so long to visit her.