Gretchen Marie (Weber) Smith

Gretchen Marie (Weber) Smith, age 72, of Mt. Carroll, Illinois passed away Friday, May 6, 2011 at the Good Samaritan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Mt. Carroll. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at SS. John & Catherine Catholic Church, Mt. Carroll with Father Dennis Atto as Celebrant. Visitation will be held 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.on Monday, May 9, 2011 at the Frank-Law-Jones Funeral Home, Mt. Carroll. Memorials may be given in Gretchen’s honor for SS. John & Catherine Catholic Church and FHN Hospice, Freeport, Il.
Gretchen was born May 22, 1938 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the daughter of Leon and Marguerite (Schallau) Weber. She is a 1956 graduate of Immaculate Conception Catholic High School in Cedar Rapids, where she served as the 1956 Homecoming Queen. She then attended Mt. Mercy Junior College in Cedar Rapids and the University of Iowa, Iowa City. In 1960, Gretchen moved to Denver, Colorado where she met “the love of her life” and husband, Judson Smith. They were married February 19, 1966 in Cedar Rapids. In 1967, a daughter, Kristen Ann, was born, and in 1968, they had a son, Kent David.
Gretchen dearly loved her family and her friends. She was employed for 23 years as a teacher's aid in the Chadwick school system and still maintains contact with some of her students to this day. It was always easy to take time for a coffee break “with the girls.” She enjoyed teaching CCD classes, reading novels and poetry, and traveling with her family. Cooking and reading cook books was a passion. She loved trying new recipes on her family. Gretchen was a member of SS. John & Catherine Catholic Church of Mt. Carroll.
She will be dearly missed by her husband, Judson Smith of Mt. Carroll; her daughter, Kristen Smith (Brian Drye) of Winthrop, Washington; her son, Kent Smith of Denver, Co.; and brother John (Mary Jo) Weber of Hazelton, IA. Gretchen is preceded in death by her parents.