Rocky Mountain News
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
HOFFMAN, MARIAN ELAINE (KRETCH)
Kretch was born in Ft. Collins to Rev. Paul and Mrs. Emma Rohlfing Kretzschmar. She grew up in Brighton where her father was pastor of Zion Lutheran Church. She graduated from Brighton H.S. in 1939 and attended Colorado A and M for two years before transferring to DU where she graduated in 1943 with a major in education and a minor in music.
Kretch dreamed of being a concert pianist, a symphony conductor, a judge and a minister, but the times and public attitudes discouraged women from these kinds of aspirations. Instead, she became a war-time wife and mother and a post-war helpmeet and wage-earner. While nurturing her two children and supporting her spouse, she worked as a public school teacher and a legal secretary.
Later in life, she faced down adversity and created an entrepreneurial life for herself as an in-home day care provider. When she retired from this calling in 1992, she could attest that she had shaped the formative lives of many young children and placed them on their paths to responsible adult- hood. As Kretch always said, "Youth are our future," and the future is brighter because of her efforts.
Kretch's most important attributes were her love of family and friends, her fervent religious convictions, her awe of nature, her deep interest in the arts and her passion for sports. She was a "people person" with a wide network of relatives and friends whose daily lives she intimately affected.
She was a committed member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, supporting its outreach programs, as well as being a longtime member of its choir. Kretch recognized the divine in the natural world basking in the warmth of the sun as she marveled at the birds that fed in her yard. She loved to listen to classical music and was a charter member of Opera Colorado from the beginning. Kretch loved all sporting activities, particularly football and was present in Miami when her beloved Buffs captured the national championship in 1991.
Kretch's sign-off every evening and sign-on every morning were the same words: "Thank God I'm alive!" And the many people whose lives have been touched and ennobled by Kretch can only respond, "Yes!" As she was fond of saying of others who had passed on, she is now in Jesus's Arms.
Kretch would not want your tears; instead, she would ask you to be strong and to persevere in doing what is right. After all, we can see her now playing the celestial organ, leading the heavenly musicians and chorus, admiring the flora and fauna of paradise, and organizing athletic competitions. Kretch will have to miss Opening Day this year, but the Rockies will do just fine, as she well knows.
She leaves behind her loving children Bill Hoffman and Karen Seymour, her son-in-law Richard Seymour and her adoring grandchildren Ansley, Meredith and Callie. In lieu of flowers, Kretch would want contributions made to the St. Paul Lutheran Music Fund, 1600 Grant Street, Denver, Colorado 80203. Memorial Service: 1 April, 2007 1 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church. Peace to all.
Kretch was born in Ft. Collins to Rev. Paul and Mrs. Emma Rohlfing Kretzschmar. She grew up in Brighton where her father was pastor of Zion Lutheran Church. She graduated from Brighton H.S. in 1939 and attended Colorado A and M for two years before transferring to DU where she graduated in 1943 with a major in education and a minor in music.
Kretch dreamed of being a concert pianist, a symphony conductor, a judge and a minister, but the times and public attitudes discouraged women from these kinds of aspirations. Instead, she became a war-time wife and mother and a post-war helpmeet and wage-earner. While nurturing her two children and supporting her spouse, she worked as a public school teacher and a legal secretary.
Later in life, she faced down adversity and created an entrepreneurial life for herself as an in-home day care provider. When she retired from this calling in 1992, she could attest that she had shaped the formative lives of many young children and placed them on their paths to responsible adult- hood. As Kretch always said, "Youth are our future," and the future is brighter because of her efforts.
Kretch's most important attributes were her love of family and friends, her fervent religious convictions, her awe of nature, her deep interest in the arts and her passion for sports. She was a "people person" with a wide network of relatives and friends whose daily lives she intimately affected.
She was a committed member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, supporting its outreach programs, as well as being a longtime member of its choir. Kretch recognized the divine in the natural world basking in the warmth of the sun as she marveled at the birds that fed in her yard. She loved to listen to classical music and was a charter member of Opera Colorado from the beginning. Kretch loved all sporting activities, particularly football and was present in Miami when her beloved Buffs captured the national championship in 1991.
Kretch's sign-off every evening and sign-on every morning were the same words: "Thank God I'm alive!" And the many people whose lives have been touched and ennobled by Kretch can only respond, "Yes!" As she was fond of saying of others who had passed on, she is now in Jesus's Arms.
Kretch would not want your tears; instead, she would ask you to be strong and to persevere in doing what is right. After all, we can see her now playing the celestial organ, leading the heavenly musicians and chorus, admiring the flora and fauna of paradise, and organizing athletic competitions. Kretch will have to miss Opening Day this year, but the Rockies will do just fine, as she well knows.
She leaves behind her loving children Bill Hoffman and Karen Seymour, her son-in-law Richard Seymour and her adoring grandchildren Ansley, Meredith and Callie. In lieu of flowers, Kretch would want contributions made to the St. Paul Lutheran Music Fund, 1600 Grant Street, Denver, Colorado 80203. Memorial Service: 1 April, 2007 1 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church. Peace to all.
