Gretchen Dock

Gretchen Dock passed away peacefully at home on October 18, 2024, after a hard fight with dementia. Gretchen was born on July 10, 1950 to Norman and Phyllis (Davis) Dock. She grew up on Sunset Farm on Intervale Road in Bethel, surrounded by her four siblings, the Morgan horses her parents bred and any number of other animals. Gretchen graduated from Gould Academy in 1968, excelling in music and athletics as well as the classroom. Gretchen was a proud inductee into Gould's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

Gretchen studied music education at Boston University, graduating in 1972. She taught elementary school music in Gorham, ME and Newton, MA, opening the eyes of innumerable youngsters to the virtues of Joni Mitchell and the Beatles. Gretchen later returned to Boston University for a master's degree. She launched herself on a long and successful career in the technology industry, moving from technical writing to marketing, management and consulting.

Gretchen and her life partner, Anne Robbins, joined forces in 1988 and married in 2004. They lived and worked in the Boston area for many years before buying a 170-year-old house on twenty-eight acres in western Massachusetts, where they merrily set themselves to making the house and grounds shine.

Gretchen was renowned for her laugh and her work ethic. She was never happier than when she had her shoulder to the wheel of a project or was making a bit of mischief at work. Gretchen was a force for good, including good behavior, writing, cooking and housekeeping. From childhood, she had a knack for facing down bullies. Children and animals, both astute judges of character, adored her. She absorbed from her mother and from her maternal grandparents, Leslie E and Marie Swan Davis, the practice of generosity and the art of lending a hand with a matter-of-fact grace, to the enduring benefit of her family, friends and communities.

Gretchen will be missed by everyone who had the chance to know her, but most especially by her wife Anne, her brothers Stephen (Carolyn) (Port Clyde, ME) and Roger (Glastonbury, CT), her sister Nancy (San Francisco, CA), her nephews Jim Dock, Tim Dock and Alex Jacobsen and niece Victoria Sinn and their families and her long-time friends Sue Ellen Richardson and Doug Topper (Mason Township) and Diane Cross (Bethel). Gretchen was predeceased by her parents, her brother (and buddy) Jimmy and her sister-in law Susanne.

If you wish to honor Gretchen's memory, give generously where you think best, with an open heart and open mind, as Gretchen always did.