Gretchen Langlitz Obituary, Death – Gretchen Langlitz, who was 85 years old, went away without any pain or suffering at Meriter Hospital, within the company of her devoted friends. Her parents, Walter and Clara (Kujawa) Langlitz, welcomed her into the world on April 25th, 1938 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Clara, who was raising Bill and Gretchen as a single mom, had a deep and passionate sense of the Catholic religion throughout their upbringing.
During her childhood, Gretchen was an active participant in a variety of school organizations, including as the Badger Girls State, the girls swim team, and the band. Gretchen started working as a camp counselor during the summers of her junior-senior year at Camp Chickagami, which is exclusively for girls between the ages of 6 and 11. Having Dutch ancestry was something that she took great pride in. In 1956, Gretchen graduated from P.J. Jacobs High School as the Valedictorian, following in the footsteps of her elder brother, who had finished the previous year.
In 1960, Gretchen received a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education from Wisconsin State College. In 1990, she received a Master of Science degree in education from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Home economics was the subject she taught at Cherokee Junior High School in Madison, where she started her 38-year career as a teacher. When she was a teacher, she was completely committed to her pupils.
Gretchen was recognized as one of the top ten instructors in her area by the American Association of Family and Consumer Services in the year 1999. A “summer grant that gave her valuable, culturally relevant insights while working with home economics teachers in Ethiopia” was subsequently awarded to her by the National Education Association and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In Alpha Deta Kappa Honorary Sorority, Gretchen was a “Silver Sister,” which means she had been a member for fifty years.
Following her retirement from Cherokee Middle School in 1999, Gretchen embarked on a new phase of her life by immersing herself in the world of travel. Through her travels throughout the world, she visited over thirty different countries, either on guided tours or independently with her companions. Gretchen’s goal was to acquire knowledge and comprehension of all people and the cultures they inhabited.
She is mourned by her “adopted” families of Downs, Henderson, and Sosa, as well as her supporting and loving friend Jeannie Ripp. Gretchen is also remembered by her neighbors on Brandon Road in Madison, who were kind and caring members of the community. The deaths of her parents, Walter and Clara, as well as her brother, Reverend Father William Langlitz, came before her own. As Gretchen and her family were receiving treatment at Meriter Hospital over the last several weeks, the family would like to express their deepest gratitude to the medical professionals, nurses, and palliative care staff who provided such compassionate care.
