Gretchen Ellen Pierce, 47, of Nobleboro, went to be with the angels on April 29 after a 15-month battle with cancer at the Bodwell Unit in Brunswick, where she resided the last month of her life.
She was born in a Naval hospital in Pensacola, Fla. on Jan. 5, 1964, the daughter of Sally Strout and Philip Carl Pierce.
Being a military brat she was able to travel around the south with her parents and older brother, Scott, sister, Vanessa and baby brother, Sean. As a family, she also lived in Mississippi and Maine where she made her home on the coast with Marc St. Pierre and her two children, Crystalynn and Joshua, her children with Robert Johnson. She went to local schools in Brunswick and graduated from Brunswick High School in 1982. As an adult she went to Kennebec Valley Technical School and was pursuing a degree in business management. While she worked her way through school, she worked at Dunkin’ Donuts where she was known as “Mama Bear.” She then got her dream job at Lane Construction in the fall of 2009. Gretchen was diagnosed with cancer five months later and given only six to eight weeks to live so she made the decision to quit her job so she could travel with her children, Marc, and family. Gretchen was able to show her family her joy of traveling. As part of Gretchen’s “Bucket List,” she and her loved ones took a week travelling to the Poconos, Ohio, Put and Bay, and then to Niagara Falls, which was her favorite part of the trip. Her final adventure was a trip to Colorado with her sister and her son, Josh. This was his early graduation gift, a chance for Gretchen to watch him snowboard down Vail, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek. Crystalynn’s graduation gift two years earlier was to Virginia.
Gretchen enjoyed reading, camping at Duck Puddle, animals and gardening. She had a small garden she cherished on her lot at Duck Puddle. The children from camp and from Lincoln Academy, her children’s school knew Gretchen well and called her “Mooma,” for her love of cows. She was close to everyone at the campground and the friends she made growing up continued to be close. Though traveling and moving across the different states her true friends remained there for her through thick and thin as close friends Lori Clough Sabins and Cheryl (Hummel) LoPiccolo. Lori was able to come and visit twice and Gretchen never went to the mailbox without something in it from Lori.
She was predeceased by her maternal grandparents, Henry and Virginia Strout; paternal grandparents, Guy and Lucy Pierce; aunt, Carol, uncle Wayne; uncle, Bill and his son, Kevin.
Gretchen is survived by her fiancé, Marc St. Pierre; daughter, Crystalynn; son, Joshua; brothers, Scott and wife Betty of Westbrook and Sean and girlfriend Heidi of Saco; sister, Vanessa and fiancé Doug of Turner; mother, Sally of Brunswick; father, Philip and wife Karen of Hollis; nieces, Kylah and Brandy; nephews, Sean, Scott, Dan and Scott; and close family friend, Amanda.
Friends are invited to join the family for a service to celebrate Gretchen’s life 12 p.m., Fri., May 6 at the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta. Rev. Rick Newell, pastor of Alna-Newcastle Baptist Church will officiate. Interment will follow in the Hall Cemetery. There will be a reception at Duck Puddle Campground, Nobleboro.
Should friends so desire, donations may be made in Gretchen’s memory to the American Cancer Society, One Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, ME 04086.
