Gretchen Howison Whiting

Gretchen Howison WHITING On May 12, after a valiant and courageous four and a half year battle with metastatic melanoma, Gretchen Howison Whiting passed away peacefully while surrounded by family at the Mercer Island home of her parents, George and Susan Howison. Gretchen was born in Massachusetts in 1968 and grew up in Arizona. She and her brother, Derek, attended Newport High School after the family relocated to Bellevue, WA in 1983. Gretchen earned her B.A. at the University of Washington in Seattle and an M.B.A from Cornell University, where she met her husband, Ren. Gretchen and Ren were married in 2001 and a year later, welcomed their son, Jack, into the world. Soon Ren was offered a job at Microsoft which prompted the Whiting threesome to relocate from Boston to Kirkland, WA. In November of 2004, Gretchen found a lump under her right arm, which was diagnosed as stage III melanoma. The cancer stemmed from a mole that she had removed in 1998, returning a negative biopsy result; however, it proved to be malignant upon retesting with newer technology in 2005. Thus began Gretchen's journey to educate the public about melanoma, to increase funding for melanoma research, and to continue to live her life to the fullest with grace, dignity, and passion. While participating in clinical trials at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and receiving treatments at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Gretchen became an active speaker and fundraiser for the FHCRC. She was the patient speaker at the Annual Hutch Award Luncheon in 2007 and at the 2008 Hutch Holiday Gala. She and her family have been the top fundraisers at FHCRC's annual Shore Run/Walk for the past three years, raising over $40,000. Gretchen didn't stop there. In the fall of 2008, she and Ren launched Love Your Shade Foundation (http://www.loveyourshade.org) to raise awareness in young women of the dangers of tanning and to promote melanoma research. She wrote an essay about her experience as a cancer patient, "Honeydew" published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book released in March 2009. Throughout her illness, Gretchen impressed her friends and family with her tenacity, positive outlook, unwavering sunny disposition, and sheer will. Her oncologist stated that he'd never seen a person fight as hard as Gretchen did. She enjoyed spending time with her family, going for walks and getting coffee with friends, doing yoga and playing squash, cooking delicious meals for her family, and cheering for the Boston Red Sox. Every night while Jack was being tucked into bed, Gretchen, Ren, and Jack would take turns expressing their "gratefuls" - what they were thankful for in their lives. The friends and family that Gretchen leaves behind are grateful that they had such a lovely, kind, graceful, generous, gentle, and beautiful soul in their lives. We are better people for having known and loved her and her spirit will be with us always. In addition to her husband, son, parents, and brother, Gretchen leaves her niece, Hannah; nephew, Andrew; and her grandmother, Lillian Bailey. A memorial service will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church, 4301 88th Ave SE, Mercer Island, on June 26 at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, Gretchen's family requests that donations be made to the FHCRC Shore Run/Walk (indicate "Love Your Shade with Team GG") at Mail Stop J5-200, PO Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109. Hoffner Fisher & Harvey Please sign the online guestbook at www.legacy.com