Gretchen Alene Kirker

Gretchen A. Kirker was taken home by our Lord on June 27, 2020. She died peacefully in her Manteca care home from complications of dementia. 

Born in 1934 in Wheeling, West Virginia, she met her husband Thomas in grade school. They married after graduating from high school and were together for 57 years until his death in 2010.

The family moved to California in 1959 settling in South San Francisco, and then Redwood City. Family and friends often gathered at their home for football games (especially the Pittsburgh Steelers), birthday barbecues, church teas, Easter egg hunts, Christmas, Thanksgivings, and even a wedding.

She is greatly missed by the families of their four children; Shelley Harrington, Karl Kirker, Karen Fullalove and Thomas S. Kirker; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is fondly remembered by her wider family at New Covenant Presbyterian Church in South San Francisco, which she attended faithfully for more than 60 years.

A celebration of her life will be held at a future time.

The family would like to publicly thank everyone at The Commons at Union Ranch in Manteca for the outstanding care Gretchen received, especially during the difficult days of the Covid-19 pandemic.