Weltha “Gretchen” Gibford passed away Jan. 13, 2017, at age 100. She was born in Seattle to George and Ruth Quealey Andersen on Oct. 12, 1916. She graduated from West Seattle High School in 1935.
In 1937 Gretchen married Wallace H. Gibford and they lived in Okanogan the next 11 years. They moved to Twisp in 1948 and lived there for the next 53 years.
Gretchen was a member of the Twisp Civic League and helped start the Twisp library in the 1950s. She was a member for over 50 years of the Virginia Griffith Auxiliary of the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Seattle.
Her love of making quilts and crocheting led her to join the Methow Valley Artisans in Winthrop for several years. She served on the Okanogan County Election Board for several years and the Blood Bank for many years.
Gretchen’s husband of 62 years passed away in 1999, and two years later she moved to Spokane to be near her daughter, Anne.
When Gretchen became blind from macular degeneration, she could still crochet her special pattern by feel, making lap robes and baby afghans for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program-Project Warm-Up in Spokane.
She was an avid reader and joined the Books for the Blind Association (based in Seattle) and listened to over 200 books.
Gretchen is preceded in death by her husband, Wally, and four sisters. Gretchen is survived by her son Dr. Richard W. Gibford (wife Cynthia), Grand Junction, Colorado; daughter Anne Bergman (husband John), Spokane; and eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren from Boston, Massachusetts, to North Bend, Washington.
At her request, there will be no services.
