Gretchen V. (Lindbergh) Stinson

Gretchen Stinson, age 97, passed away peacefully Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, in Kennewick, Wash. She was born in Halliday, N.D., on September 12, 1914, to Dorothea and Clifford Barrows. She was the first of five children and was raised in Dodge, N.D. After graduating from high school, she attended Dickenson State Teachers’ College. She then went on to teach at a local country school for one year, teaching first graders how to read.

She came to the Grand Coulee Dam area and worked for the USBR Power Field and married her first husband, Clayton “Lindy” Lindbergh. They had two daughters, Judith and Joan. After her children were raised, she moved to Portland, Ore., and worked for BPA before transferring to Seattle writing land descriptions for National Marine Fisheries Research under the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Agency. In Seattle she met her second husband Robert Stinson, and they married in Lahaina, Maui Hawaii. She gained a stepdaughter, Pam (Ken) Sanberg. After retirement, Gretchen and Bob enjoyed many winters on the Hawaiian Islands. Gretchen was quite a globetrotter, enjoying travels to Canada, Europe, the British Isles, Mexico, the Caribbean and Australia. Many of her travels included her sister Iris. She enjoyed family outings to Twin Lakes, Wash.; Mt. Rainier, Victoria, BC and mostly to Westport, Wash. In 1998 and after her second husband had passed away, Gretchen moved from Seattle to Kennewick to be closer to her sister Ardeth (Jerry) Jones. Her sister Iris and her husband Frank Bergquist moved as well.

Gretchen is survived by her sister Ardeth (Jerry) Jones, Kennewick; daughter Judith Bach, Grand Coulee; stepdaughter Pam (Ken) Sanberg, Seattle; grandchildren Troy Sanders, Grand Coulee; Trina (Jim) Riley, Spokane Valley; Jennifer (Jerrod) Dixon, South Burlington, Vt; Kim (Rex) and Ken Jr. Sanberg, Seattle; six great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter Cloe, and one on the way; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great- nephews. She was a member of the Campfire Girls, Lions Club Ladies, Order of Eastern Star and the United Methodist Church.

Gretchen was preceded in death by her first husband Clayton Lindbergh; second husband Robert Stinson; daughter Joan Lindbergh Telles; sister Iris (Frank and Carol) Bergquist; brother Kenton Barrows and brother Keith Barrows.

A memorial will be held at the Grand Coulee United Methodist Church at 1 pm., on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, and she will be laid to rest at Spring Canyon Cemetery.