Gretchen GHENT Obituary
April 21, 1939 - October 31, 2011
Gretchen, beloved wife of Edward of Calgary, passed away suddenly on Monday, October 31, 2011 at the age of 72 years. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Gretchen was a champion swimmer winning a gold medal at the PanAm Games in Mexico City. She missed the U.S.A. Olympic team by a fraction of a second in 1956, and is a member of the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. She attended Ohio State University graduating with a B.S.E. in 1961, and a B.S. in Library Science from the University of British Columbia in 1969. She was Librarian at the University of Calgary from 1969 to 1995. Her last assignment was head of the Science Library. After her retirement, Gretchen worked on a number of projects involving sports history and competition. She is survived by her loving husband, Ed, brother Robert Kluter of Natick, Massachusetts, and sister Christine McCullough of Cincinnati, Ohio. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Mustard Seed Street Ministry, 102 - 11 Avenue S.E., Calgary, AB T2G 0X5 (Telephone 403-269-1319, www.theseed.ca ).
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8 Entries
Albert Remans
November 16, 2011
It was a great priviliged to work together with Gretchen during my period (1988-2000) as secretary general of the International Association for Sports Information(IASI). Gretchen was much more than a high-qualified colleague : she was a prominent personnality and a good friend. We will never forget the many nice moments we've spend together.
Debbie Brigley
November 10, 2011
I had the pleasure of meeting Gretchen on her visits to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. She had embarked on a huge history project and she would come on a regular basis with loads of books in tow. She was always so friendly and eager to tell a story. We are really going to miss her and her incredible contributions to our museum.
arta johnson
November 10, 2011
Gretchen was the head of the unit where I was an administrative assistant. She promoted growth and development in me. It was hard to keep ahead of her when we began to learn Word Perfect. I can remember wonderful Christmas parties at her house, talking to her about sewing techniques, meeting her for brown bag lunches in the Law Library Lounge, and doing one-way recipe exchanges (from Gretchen to me). We met up when I travelled to London and she was there as well. She bought cloth fabric at Liberty, she purchased lunch for me at a pub and I enjoyed the afternoon at the musical, Billie Elliot, with her. Dani Pahulje and I went to her house after work one day and she split some annuals from her garden to give to us. Gretchen was always giving. There is a deep grief in me over her passing. I share your family's loss.
Richard Cox
November 8, 2011
I knew Gretchen for approx. 20 years. Twice she visited me in Manchester where I have fond memories of sharing our twin passions of sports biliography and gardening. The last tme we were together was sat in the grounds of Dunham Massey country house both talking about what might become of our work once we had retired. Gretchen worked tirelessly to excel in documenting sports literature from which many scholars have benefitted and will continue to do so in years to come. What is even more remarkable is that she did it all voluntarily.
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November 8, 2011
Gretchen was a very good friend of mine when we worked for the International association for sports information. She was always clever, open, calm and willing to help. My thoughts are with the family.
Isabelle (INSEP - FRANCE)
Greg Blood
November 7, 2011
Gretchen was a wonderful and tireless contributor to the world of sport information, particularly as President of International Association of Sport Information (IASI) and NASLIN. I will always remember the fantastic hospitality from Gretchen and Ed when I visited Calgary in the early 1990's. My thoughts are with her family.
Marilyn Nasserden
November 7, 2011
I have fond memories of Gretchen. She mentored me as a science librarian in the 1990s. She was also interested over the years in hearing how my kids were doing with their sports at the national level. I will miss her. With sympathy to Ed and family.
Marilyn
Brenda MacDonald
November 7, 2011
I am so very, very sorry for your loss of Gretchen. I met Gretchen when I came to work at the University. She hired me as a Secretary and stated that I was young enough to mold. While I was a bit intimidated by her I came to realize that she was one of the most gentlest, kindest, and sincere person you would want to know. Even in retirement we still helped Gretchen out whenever she would ask and it was always a pleasure to do so. I will miss her hearty laugh and her sense of humor and certainly will miss running into her in the Library. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.
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