Gretchen Lee Megowen

Gretchen Lee Megowen passed away on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, after a long respiratory illness. Her family is consoled by the fact that she is at peace and free from suffering.

Gretchen was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1954. Her family lived in Carlisle (near Concord), Massachusetts, and she graduated from Concord Academy in 1972. After a year at Vassar College, she transferred to MIT, where she majored in life sciences. Next she attended Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, where she received her M.D. in 1980. She undertook her residency training in psychiatry at the prestigious Timberlawn Psychiatric Hospital in Dallas.

For more than thirty years, she practiced psychiatry in hospital and outpatient settings. These included many years at Dallas Metrocare Services, where she saw patients in clinics, jails, homeless shelters, and criminal diversion programs and served as Medical Director at various clinics. She was board-certified in psychiatry, became a Distinguished Lifetime Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, served as a clinical instructor at Southwestern Medical School, and was active in the Mental Health Association of Greater Dallas and the local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

While at MIT, she met fellow MIT student Michael Jung; they were married in 1976. They moved to Dallas in 1980, and had two children, Maggie and Peter. Gretchen took on the role of team manager for Maggie's and Peter's Destination Imagination teams, and later served on the Dallas DI Regional Board. She was active in the Lakewood Service League, tutored elementary and junior-high school students, became a certified water-aerobics instructor, and sang in the church jazz ensemble and sanctuary choir.

Gretchen was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She is survived by her husband, Michael Jung (Dallas); her daughter, Maggie Richey and Maggie's husband, Tim Richey and their children, Kyle, Tristan, Margot, and MJ (Citrus Heights, CA); her son, Peter Jung (Dallas); her mother, Margaret Megowen (Providence, RI); and her brothers, Jake Megowen and wife, Alicia Megowen (Clearwater, FL) and Robert Megowen and wife, Paula Megowen (Houghton, Ml); and sister, Ann Stevens and husband, John Stevens (Ann Arbor, Ml).

A memorial service is planned for this summer. Gretchen's favorite charity was The Wilkinson Center, a social services organization that provides a wide range of services to those in need. She spent many hours packaging donated diapers for them while watching British murder mysteries on TV with Michael. Memorial contributions may be made to The Wilkinson Center, P.O. Box 720248, Dallas, TX 75372, or thewilkinsoncenter.org.