Gretchen Spaeth

Gretchen Renae (Fuhrmannek) Spaeth was born on August 3, 1964 in Worthington, MN to Erich and Crystal (Nelson) Fuhrmannek. She attended school in Pipestone, MN and graduated from Pipestone Area High School in 1983. Following her graduation, Gretchen attended St. Cloud State University. During this time, she met and married Paul Johnson. The couple had two children: Amber and Erich. The couple later divorced but stayed close over the years. A few years later Gretchen went on a trip with her mother to visit family in Germany. While there she met and later married Ralph Spaeth. The couple lived in Germany for a few years before moving back to the states. They bought a home on Lake Cowdry near Alexandria and expanded their family with the birth of twin boys: Kyle and Ryan. After her twins moved with their father back to Germany, Gretchen continued to live in the Alexandria area until her time of passing.

Gretchen had a love for the outdoors where she enjoyed fishing, snowmobiling and spending time on the lake. She was also known for having a lucky streak whenever she took trips to the casino.

Gretchen is survived by her mom: Crystal (Keith) Dougherty; four children: Amber Johnson, Erich Johnson, Kyle Spaeth, and Ryan Spaeth; her sister: Andrea (Mike) Kloubec; two aunts: Dianne (Dennis) VanGoor and Marcie Muckey; and one uncle: Gunter Fuhrmannek. She is preceded in death by her dad: Erich Fuhrmannek; her uncle: Del Muckey; her aunt: Shirley Fuhrmannek; and numerous aunts and uncles in Germany.

Gretchen died on Sunday, August 15, 2021 at the age of 57 years. A memorial service will be held on Monday, September 13, 2021, 1:00 p.m. at Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria, MN with visitation one-hour prior at the funeral home. This service will be live-streamed and recorded for family and friends to view from Gretchen’s obituary page on the Anderson Funeral Home website at 1 PM on Monday. Burial will be at Flower Field Cemetery in Hills, MN.

In Lieu of flowers, memorials to the family are preferred.