Obituary of Gretchen Ruth Vahl

Gretchen Ruth Vahl, of Colorado Springs, CO, passed away on October 4th, 2023 after battling cancer. She was 61. Born on April 24th, 1962 to parents Theodore Frederick Vahl and Velda Mae Clegg Vahl, Gretchen grew up in the city of her birth, Omaha, NE. After graduating from Ralston High School, Gretchen attended Kearney State College (Kearney, NE) for her undergraduate education, then earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha) in 1988. Soon after, Gretchen married Philip Holmgren of Kearney. (Sadly, she became a widow in 1999.) With her pharmacy degree, she moved to Quincy, IL to work as a hospital pharmacist at Blessing Hospital, living in Quincy for over a decade. In the early-2000s, Gretchen moved to Denver, CO for a brief time before settling in Colorado Springs, working at Penrose Hospital until 2022. As a girl, Gretchen’s favorite toys were horses, and she loved Star Trek. She enjoyed Renaissance Festivals, museums, singing in choirs, and the music of Neil Diamond. She was active in church, participating in the choir and Bible studies, and took several wonderful trips with members of Bethel Lutheran Church of Colorado Springs. But probably her most distinctive hobby was her great, lifelong love of books, especially fantasy and science fiction. She would often read standing up. Gretchen’s family remarks that she “was a pharmacist her entire career and a booklover her entire life. A beloved daughter and sister, she will be greatly missed by her family.” She is preceded in death by her sister, Amy, her husband, Philip, and her mother, Velda. Gretchen is survived by her brother, Steve, of Superior, CO, her father, Ted, and stepmother, Barbara, both of Arvada, CO, as well as three nephews and a niece. A funeral service will take place Saturday, October 28th, 1:00PM, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the Springs Rescue Mission in Colorado Springs (https://www.springsrescuemission.org/give-now). The Vahl Family thanks you for all your kind thoughts and loving remembrances.