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Gretchen Vahl Obituary
Gretchen Ruth
Vahl
April 24, 1962
October 4, 2023
Gretchen Ruth Vahl, of Colorado Springs, CO, passed away on October 4th, 2023 after battling cancer. She was 61.
Born on April 24th, 1962 to parents Theodore Frederick Vahl and Velda Mae Clegg Vahl, Gretchen grew up in the city of her birth, Omaha, NE. After graduating from Ralston High School, Gretchen attended Kearney State College (Kearney, NE) for her undergraduate education, then earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha) in 1988. Soon after, Gretchen married Philip Holmgren of Kearney. (Sadly, she became a widow in 2000.) With her pharmacy degree, she moved to Quincy, IL to work as a hospital pharmacist at Blessing Hospital, living in Quincy for over a decade. In the early-2000s, Gretchen moved to Denver, CO for a brief time before settling in Colorado Springs, working at Penrose Hospital until 2022.
As a girl, Gretchen's favorite toys were horses, and she loved Star Trek. She enjoyed Renaissance Festivals, museums, singing in choirs, and the music of Neil Diamond. She was active in church, participating in the choir and Bible studies, and took several wonderful trips with members of Bethel Lutheran Church of Colorado Springs. But probably her most distinctive hobby was her great, lifelong love of books, especially fantasy and science fiction. She would often read standing up.
Gretchen's family remarks that she "was a pharmacist her entire career and a booklover her entire life. A beloved daughter and sister, she will be greatly missed by her family."
She is preceded in death by her sister, Amy, her husband, Philip, and her mother, Velda. Gretchen is survived by her brother, Steve, of Superior, CO, her father, Ted, and stepmother, Barbara, both of Arvada, CO, as well as three nephews and a niece.
A funeral service will take place Saturday, October 28th, 1:00PM, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the Springs Rescue Mission in Colorado Springs (https://www.springsrescuemission.org/give-now).
The Vahl Family thanks you for all your kind thoughts and loving remembrances.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Gretchen Vahl
5 Entries
Carolyn & Harold Turner
January 6, 2024
We so enjoyed having Gretchen and Phillip as part of friends for the years that they lived in Quincy. Really missed her when she moved to Colorado to be near her family.
All our love and praying for her family.
Michael, Megan, Thomas, and Arthur
October 27, 2023
We love you, Gretchen. We will miss and have deeply appreciated how you celebrated each of our birthdays and major milestones our entire lives with the most fun, funny, and thoughtful greeting cards.
Theodore and Barbara Vahl
October 21, 2023
We are richer having Gretchen in our family. She was deeply loved and that will never love will go on long after we are gone. We will miss her and try to fill the huge void in our lives. We lost a child and no parent should have to say goodbye first. We will draw our strength in memories of her, remembering what a kind soul she was. Gretchen was a loving daughter and that love will never be forgotten. We thank everyone for their condolences.
Rich & Nedra Perry
October 18, 2023
We were blessed to know Gretchen as a cousin in law. She always maintained a great attitude complimented by a good sense of humor. Sorry we didn´t have more opportunities for interaction. She brought Joy when we did.
Ken and Sharon Holmgren
October 17, 2023
We are grateful that we had the priviledge of spending some time with Gretchen during the years that she was married our cousin Philip. We pray that God will comfort your hearts and that Jesus will bless you with His loving Presence.
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