Audrey June Kretzschmar

Audrey June Kretzschmar (1926-2023)

Audrey June Kretzschmar died July 23, 2023, after a short illness. She was born to John and Ada Krauss on May 30, 1926, in Owosso, Michigan. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Jack, and her husband William A. Kretzschmar.  She is survived by her sons William Jr. (Claudia) and Peter (Jane); grandchildren Jillian Essig (Zach Shub-Essig), Jennifer Cunniff (Travis), Brendan Kretzschmar (Corey Hartman), and Russell Kretzschmar; and great-grandchildren Avery Cunniff, Cole Kretzschmar, Grayson Essig, and Elliott Kretzschmar. She loved them all dearly. She is also survived by her sister Betty Kelsey, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Audrey grew up in Owosso, and as the oldest and most adventuresome child, left town for the University of Michigan where she became a nurse. She was afflicted with tuberculosis thereafter, and when she could get out of bed for long enough she married William Kretzschmar, a doctor. Her first child was born while her husband was stationed in Korea. Upon his return they moved to Milwaukee, where Audrey stayed home to raise her sons and also stayed active in charitable causes such as her lifetime interest in PEO, which supports scholarships for women. When her husband died in 1976 Audrey returned to work as a nurse in Milwaukee. When she retired from nursing she moved to Athens to be close to her two grandsons. While in Athens she was active in the Newcomers Club and in the First Presbyterian Church, and had a long career as a volunteer in the Pink Posy shop at Athens Regional Hospital. Failing health made her leave her house at the beginning of 2023, first for three months of rehab at Heritage nursing home, and then for two months on the personal care floor at Wesley Woods/Talmage Terrace.

Audrey was a people person. She loved to keep up with all her relatives, and made a great many friends in Athens. If you met her, she would soon know everything about you and your family. She was fiercely independent, and her strong will was what allowed her to overcome her loss of mobility in the last months of her life, to learn to get around again in a wheelchair and join the lifestyle at Talmage Terrace.

The family would like to thank the staff at Heritage and Talmage Terrace for all their support for Audrey during her last months. If you would like to remember Audrey with a donation please consider PEO, https://www.peointernational.org/.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, July 28, 2023 at 10:00 AM at the First Presbyterian Church of Athens. A graveside inurnment will be held on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 11:00 AM at Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, WEST, Watkinsville is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.