Gretchen E. Mauerhan

Gretchen Elizabeth Mauerhan, age 83, of Edon, Ohio, passed away peacefully at 10:10 P.M. on Monday, August 24, 2015, at Community Health Professionals Inpatient Hospice near Defiance, Ohio, with her family at her side, after a brief illness. 

Born on June 11, 1932, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, she was the daughter of Harry and Sally (Beard) VanBrunt. Mrs. Mauerhan was a graduate of Bowling Green State University, receiving her degree in art and journalism. She married the love of her life and husband of sixty-two years, Karl E. Mauerhan, on December 27, 1954, in Lancaster, New York, and became an Army wife, traveling the world for thirty years with her husband during his service to our country. Upon retirement, they returned to Edon, where she fulfilled a lifelong dream of publishing a newspaper when they purchased the Edon Commercial in 1985 and published it for the next ten years. 

Throughout the years, she was an active member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, where she was a member of the Women of the Church. She also was an avid supporter of the Edon Library and the Williams County Veteran Building Project that she worked on with her husband and was a member of the Edon American Legion Auxiliary. As a cancer survivor of thirty years, Gretchen enjoyed making chemo beanies or anything else dedicated to comforting others during treatment. She was also an accomplished water color artist. 

Survivors include her husband, Karl; one son, Peter Karl (Camille) Mauerhan, and their children, Alexandria, Andrew and Abigail, of North Salt Lake City, Utah; one daughter, Lisa Catherine Mauerhan, and her children, Nicholas and Kate, of Salt Lake City, Utah; and one brother, Skip (Carol) VanBrunt, of Boise, Idaho. 

Services celebrating the life of Gretchen E. Mauerhan will be held on Saturday, August 29, 2015, at 11:00 A.M. in St. Peter’s Lutheran Church with Reverend Roger Marlow officiating. Interment will be private. The family will receive visitors for one hour prior to the service, beginning at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday. 

Committal services for Col. Karl and Gretchen Mauerhan will be held at 1:00 pm on Friday, October 4, 2024, at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C. 

Memorials are requested to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church or to the American Cancer Society.