Gretchen Isabel Mullen Weber

Sunday, May 13, marks the first Mother’s Day without our Mom, and we wanted to take the opportunity to publicly express our love and appreciation for the person who always put us first, and whose guidance and support we greatly miss. Gretchen Isabel Mullen Weber was born in Los Angeles on December 23, 1934, and died in Fullerton on December 17, 2017.  Friends and family gathered earlier this year to remember Gretchen and to celebrate the impact she made during her nearly-83-year life. Gretchen grew up during the Great Depression in Los Angeles and then in Willits, California. Her family moved often, but that only gave her more opportunities to make more friends, many of whom would remain close to Gretchen throughout her life. One of her best friends was her horse, Socks.  While living in Willits, Gretchen would ride Socks for hours and hours through the redwood forest, appreciating both the majesty of nature and the quiet of the trail.  A young beauty, Gretchen combined her looks with her horsemanship and her salesmanship to win the Willits Sweetheart of the Rodeo competition in 1955 Following high school, Gretchen worked at a lumber mill in Willits before moving back to Los Angeles to work for the FBI, where she would meet Ralph Weber.  Ralph and Gretchen married in 1956 and transferred with the FBI to New York, where they later welcomed to the family sons Jeff Weber and Doug Weber. Ralph and Gretchen returned several years later to Los Angeles, and then moved to Fullerton where they would plant their stakes and raise their family.  Gretchen was an active mom, constantly supporting her boys and their activities such as school/PTA, West Fullerton Little League and Boys Club of Fullerton. Gretchen was an involved, caring and supportive Mom, greeting the boys each day after school with questions about what they did and what they learned. She listened. She helped. She invested.  Gretchen was also a “soccer mom” before there was such a thing. Countless chauffer and/or spectator sessions at the boys’ baseball, basketball and football games was the norm.  And two boys meant two teams…which meant games or practices on nearly every night of the week.  It took a family commitment to make that work. A stickler for rules, Gretchen held the boys accountable to her high standards of citizenship and achievement.  She was the boss, and the boys knew it.  Still, Gretchen was also amiable and able to connect with and befriend the boys’ friends in a way that made it easy and comfortable for kids to stop by and visit the Webers. As life is imperfect, Gretchen’s was not without its share of heartache.  Nursing her mom through a terminal disease took a heavy toll. A divorce after 32 years of marriage presented another huge bump in the road.  And decades of chronic illness would render her body unable to chase many of the dreams conjured up in her most fertile mind; indeed, the spirit remained willing, while the flesh became weak. Still, with all of her challenges, Gretchen remained a devoted and loving mom, grandma, sister and friend.  Her ability to stay connected to lifelong friends is part of the legacy that she passed on to her sons who have remained similarly connected. And her ability to provide sage wisdom never waned. Perhaps it is true that there is nothing common about common sense; but Gretchen possessed an extra dose of this intuitive skill.  She had the ability to bypass irrelevant details, get to the important issue and then opine.  Oh, yes, she could opine! Gretchen was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Vivian Mullen, and her sister, Dee Powers.  She is survived by son Jeff, daughter-in-law Lisa and grandchildren Whitney, Sam and Jack; son Doug, daughter-in-law Diana and granddaughter Abbey; and sister Melinda Taylor. Gretchen will be remembered as a kind, loyal, helpful and caring person.  Mostly, she will be remembered as…Mom. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.  We love you, and we miss you…