Gretchen Ann Horne

September 16, 1938 – December 27, 2022

Gretchen Ann (Frey) Horne, a longtime resident of Moses Lake, passed away on Dec. 27, 2022, in Yakima, Washington. Gretchen had been living in Yakima at a memory care facility since August of 2018.

Gretchen was born on Sept. 16, 1938, in Yakima, Washington. Her father, Art Frey, was a teacher and her mother, Thora Belle Armstrong, worked in the office of a large fruit packing company. In 1941 the family moved to Spokane, Washington when Art accepted a teaching/coaching position at Lewis and Clark High School, a position he would hold for the next 31 years. Gretchen grew up on 24th and Jefferson, on Spokane’s South Hill. She attended Lewis and Clark and was involved in many activities. In her senior year she was named the Job’s Daughters Queen for 1956. After high school, Gretchen attended WSU for one year before moving back to Spokane. In 1958, Gretchen found herself working as a secretary at a downtown business called Capital Finance. While there, she met and fell in love with the young assistant manager, Doug Horne. After a quick engagement, the couple were married on June 15, 1958, in the Manito Presbyterian Church.

The couple moved briefly to Chehalis, Washington for Doug’s business, but soon found themselves back in Eastern Washington. Upon landing in Moses Lake in 1959, Gretchen’s first words to Doug were "I will give this a year!" That year stretched out for 59 years, and Moses Lake became the city that Gretchen learned to call home. In 1961, they had their first child, Teresa Lynn Horne. In 1964, their son Lawrence Douglas Horne was born. In 1980, after their daughter gave birth to their first grandchild, Anitra Monique, Doug and Gretchen became legal guardians of Anitra and raised her.

Over the years, Gretchen was involved in many different activities in her newly adopted hometown. She was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of Moses Lake, where she served as an elder and clerk of session for many years. She was a Stephen Minister for several years and was active in her local PEO chapter.

Gretchen loved to travel. This love of travel was not just a passive hobby. When Gretchen planned a vacation, she brought out notebooks, maps and brochures, which she acquired through numerous letters to local tourism offices. She built three-ring binders and meticulously planned out family adventures. Each roadside historical marker was read, and every museum and historical site visited. But of all the places Gretchen traveled, none could ever compare to her beloved ocean. Gretchen lived for her vacations to the ocean. In later life, she and Doug would spend at least two weeks every year in Cannon Beach. The ocean, to her, was life made tangible through every gray mist, seagull squawk, and cuffs made wet by overly-ambitious waves.

Gretchen was an honest and caring person who truly loved her friends and her church. She was a person who felt things deeply, and despised the dark sarcasm often found in everyday life. Gretchen was a graceful and gracious person, a definite nod to a more genteel time. She noticed which fork you used for your salad, whether or not you removed your hat in a restaurant, and if you neglected to say please and thank you when such a gesture was required. Most of all, however, Gretchen lived by the motto "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all." So, while she was sometimes quiet with a knowing expression, she was always quick to forgive and ready with a smile. Her generosity of spirit, her contained yet exuberant lust for travel and adventure, and her deep and abiding kindness were her hallmarks. For this, and for so much more, she will be forever missed.

Gretchen is survived by her daughter Teresa of Tri-Cities; her son Larry and his husband Jeremy of Olympia; and her granddaughter Anitra Castillo, her husband Juan and their two children Rayn and Noah of Moses Lake. She is also survived (albeit in memory only) by her husband of 61 years, Douglas Lewis Horne, the forever soldier by her side.

Memorial services will be announced in early spring 2023.

Brookside Funeral Home is caring for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.brooksidefuneral.com.