Gretchen Marie Pump

Gretchen Marie (Andresen) Pump, 95, of Forks Township, PA, passed away on January 11, 2026. Born to parents Wilhelm and Marie Petersen Andresen on April 25, 1930, in Tastrup, Germany, where she also met and lived with her husband, Heinrich Pump (d. 2013), until they immigrated to the United States in 1958. After settling in New Jersey, Gretchen spent a great deal of her time and attention focused on her family. For a while, she could be found working diligently on the line at Koh-I-Noor before retiring to spend more time with her grandchildren and working on her cross-stitch creations. Gretchen spent her later years tending to her garden, baking, and doting on her grandchildren. Though she wasn't as mobile in her twilight, Gretchen never lost her spark and was dedicated to her family until the end.

Gretchen is survived by her daughter Birgit, with whom she resided in her later years (and grandson, Luke) of Forks Twp.; two sons, Peter and wife, Patricia (and grandson, Steven) of Lopatcong, and Henry and wife, Dawn (and granddaughters, Alexandria and Georgia) of Stockertown; a brother, Walter Andresen, of Milford, NJ; and a sister, Elfriede Behm, of Roseto, PA. She was pre-deceased by her youngest brother, Albert Andresen (d. 2023) and by her eldest brother, Peter Andresen (d. 2008).

A celebration of life will be hosted by the family at a later date.

Contributions: In lieu of flowers, the family requests any memorial contributions be made in her memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital:

https://www.stjude.org/give/memorials-and-dedications.html