Gretchen Grauer Vanderhoof

Mom, it´s been 2 years now since you left for the great beyond. The first year you left us, felt like it went at a snail´s pace and this year, seems to have flown by. I miss you and think of you often and sometimes you come visit me in a bizarre dream!
Travel on mom, I love you
Heidi

Hi Mom. I guess this is your first "Remembrance Day" or anniversary since you passed. I remember random moments like all of us attending Will´s wedding in Boston. Boy, you had the best time. I remember that you "escaped" us to walk over to the drugstore by yourself! You were so pleased that you had a chance to be independent again. Unquestionably, you were independent to the core.

I also remember our discussion about where you wanted to go after you died. You wanted Heidi and I to carry your ashes on a boat, and travel out to sea with Dixieland jazz music playing along the way. We didn´t talk about details. It was so gratifying when Heidi found a 2010 article you saved talking about the Neptune Memorial Reef because that is exactly where your plaque rests.

When we scattered your ashes, two large pink, Moon jellyfish rose to receive you. That was unbelievable. I like to think that these pink jellyfish carried you north just a few hundred miles to mix with the famous pink sands of Bermuda. You had the fondest memories of Bermuda after your visit to see a school friend all those years ago.

If not though, you are free to explore the world. We may have even gotten close to you on our own adventures on the seas. We know you are at peace. We feel it. Our love to you on your Remembrance Day.

I love this photo from your 90th birthday. Not even glass could keep you from having a special day! I love and miss you mom.

This is my favorite birthday photo of you. They didn't bring out a plate of dessert, they brought out a tray! Happy birthday mom.

She always laughed at the quirky things I did, without questioning any of it. She never forgot a birthday. She relentlessly supported the pursuit of my dream career even when it seemed completely hopeless. She gave all of us our sense of pride in whatever art we chose to pursue.

She was Gram and she will be missed.

I knew Gretchen as Mrs Vanderhoof. She has a penchant for keeping life informal, relaxed and funny! Rather than being caught up in the stiff Shaker Heights social life, she sought intellectual pursuits and related to me and Melanie's other friends with genuine interest, compassion and understanding. This was unusual for that era (the 1970s) when most parents regarded us teenagers with skepticism, suspicion and doubt. She was a renaissance woman by all accounts, and I am privileged to have known her.

Dear Melanie, What a wonderful and interesting life your mother led -- and what a great legacy she leaves in you and your sister and your children. If I ever make it to the Greenbrier, I will think of you all! Please accept my sincere condolences on this loss.

I met Gretchen on her 2000 trip to The Greenbrier and we stayed in touch for years afterward. It was always a delight to hear her voice on the phone and keep up with her family stories.