Gretchen Gardner, 75

Gretchen Norma (Ogden) Gardner, 75, died Wednesday, Aug. 30, surrounded by her children and grandchildren at Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Her last words for her family as she smiled at us were "I love the Rosary," then she breathed her last Hail Marys to Heaven until she expired. A fitting end to a life full of love and sacrifice.

Born to Gretchen (Noffsinger) and Norm Ogden on Jan. 25, 1948, in Missoula, Mont., she also lived in Anaconda and Whitefish. She attended the University of Dallas and then married Ronald Gardner on Nov. 28, 1969. She was, first and foremost, a mother and she loved her children fiercely.

She is survived by her six children, Suzanne, Joseph, Timothy, Anne Marie, Christopher and Nicholas, as well as by her 45 grandchildren.

She tirelessly gave herself to motherhood in Nampa for 29 years, then moved to Post Falls to give her last 20 years as the best of grandmothers. Her contributions as a lobbyist for Idaho Right to Life, a board member of Idaho Chooses Life and a voice in Idaho politics saved the lives of many babies. She established the largest bookstore in Idaho, Twice Sold Tales, a center of culture in Nampa for a generation. She attended daily Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception in Post Falls, as she prepared her soul for the happiest of deaths.

A public Rosary and viewing will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, at Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls, Idaho. The funeral will be held at Immaculate Conception (495 Lincoln St.) on Saturday the 9th at 11 a.m., and the burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery, which English Funeral Chapel will be arranging.