Gretchen Haas Gurnee
Nov. 4, 1960 – July 13, 2026

Gretchen H. Gurnee, 65, of Ferndale passed away on July 13, surrounded by her family at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka. A nonsmoker, Gretchen had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer in June. Loving and kind, she was an adored wife and mother, and a cherished daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt and friend. She will be deeply missed.

Gretchen was born in Philadelphia, the second of Charles Warren Haas and Geraldine Carlson Haas’ three children. Gretchen and her siblings grew up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Some of her happiest childhood memories came from caring for her younger brother, Ben, and visiting her beloved Aunt Joyce and Uncle Harold in St. Petersburg, Florida.

After graduating as valedictorian from The Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware, Gretchen enrolled at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. At Cornell she supported herself with multiple jobs – her favorite was in the rare books section of the university library – while earning a degree in English and election to Phi Beta Kappa.

Shortly after graduation, Gretchen moved to Garberville and went to work at the Heartwood Wholistic Health Institute, where she met her future husband, Paul Lawrence Gurnee Jr.

Gretchen and Paul, who celebrated their 40th anniversary on April 27, settled in Ferndale in 1994. The couple raised four children, starting with Kalia Patience, who was born in 1987, followed by Elijah Zebadiah (1991), Emelia Hope (1994) and Nalani Joy (1996). She loved the family she and Paul created more than anything. They were her whole world, and she was theirs.

Gretchen was a lifelong learner, and she nurtured that same curiosity in her children. She loved reading to her children at bedtime and taking them to the Ferndale Library to pick out books and discover new adventures together. She was always ready to help with schoolwork, spending countless hours doing so as she raised four valedictorians.

She loved sports, particularly baseball – she was an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers – and tennis, thanks to her father being an accomplished tennis player during his time at Cornell. Her love of sports extended to passionately rooting for her children in all of their sporting and extracurricular activities.

Gretchen also loved music, both old and new, amusing her family with her recent Spotify Wrapped age of 17. She fondly remembered the little record player her parents gave her as a child and, later in life, was elated to receive a new turntable for Christmas and begin collecting records again.

She found joy in morning coffee and late-night tea, sitting in the sun on the back step, watching the birds in her backyard, and watering, weeding, and caring for her flowers.

Gretchen was playful and charming, and loved to make her family laugh. Her common refrain, “never turn your back on the potatoes” – a safeguard against boil-over incidents – became an enduring family joke, and she liked to remind her children that, because she went to college in central New York, she really did walk to school in the snow, uphill both ways.

Her nurturing and fun-loving spirit stayed with her through her final moments in the intensive care unit, where she comforted her family and kept them laughing until the very end.

Gretchen always hated funerals and never wanted one for herself. She was buried at Ferndale Cemetery, with Ayers Family Cremation handling arrangements.

She was preceded in death by her dad; her mom; her mom’s second husband, Jim Welsh; her Aunt Joyce and Uncle Harold; and her dog, Pax. She is survived by her husband; her children; her daughter-in-law, Pam Lundeberg; her brothers and their families; her dad’s second wife, Beth Haas; her extended family, Phil and Verdell Gurnee; her cat, Clara; and her granddog, Remy.

Gretchen radiated warmth and light. She was sweet and selfless, and beloved by all who knew her. She will be remembered as the most loving mom and wife her family could have asked for, whose kindheartedness and silliness carried them through good times and bad. She will be loved and missed, forever and always.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Gretchen Gurnee’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.