Gretchen Foley Mead lived a singular life of purpose. An artist and naturalist, she was devoted to her family, friends, and community.

Born in 1941 in Denver, Colorado, Gretchen moved often as she grew up - Louisiana, Texas, and multiple places in Oklahoma. Her family settled in a New York City suburb, and she graduated from Scarsdale High School before attending Middlebury College. Returning to school as a single young mother, she completed her undergraduate degree in botany at the University of Vermont.

Gretchen cherished her daughters, Cheryl, Kim, and Julie. She raised them with her joyful spirit and a sense of wonder for the natural world. Through the Green Mountain Club, she met her second husband, Alan Mead, and her future stepsons, Lincoln, Randy, and Curtis. Gretchen and Alan raised their children in northern Vermont, where they kept farm animals and took canoe trips. She wrote a how-to home canning book, 'Keeping the Harvest,' and developed a passion for gardening that shaped much of her later years.

Eventually settling in coastal Lubec, Maine, Gretchen and Alan developed the Cottage Garden, a two-acre public garden that included a nature center and a shop featuring their crafts. During these years, Gretchen honed her artistic skills under the guidance of her friend Nina Bohlen. Her passion for color, both on paper and in her gardens, dominated her artistic development. She went on to write and illustrate three small books: a natural history of the area, a fable set on Maine's coast, and a reflection on winter. The books are available at the Lubec Library and at Narrow Escape Coffee Shop on Water Street.

Alan and Gretchen traveled and backpacked extensively throughout their lives together, including trips across South America, Asia, and Europe, where they lived on canal boats for a time.

Gretchen lived on Carrying Place Cove after Alan's death in 2018, until she recently moved into the village. Her devotion to the town of Lubec is evident in her long-standing support for the Lubec Memorial Library. The heart of Gretchen's life, however, was her family. She opened the world to them through travel and counted her children and grandchildren among her friends. She felt blessed to have them in her life.

Gretchen considered her terminal illness her final adventure.

Gretchen's family includes daughters Cheryl Ledoux of Georgia, Vermont, Kimberly Hopper of San Francisco, Julie Kollar of Huntington Beach; sons Lincoln Mead of Lynchburg, Randy Mead of Denver, and Curtis Mead of Keene; twelve grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. 

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 11, at 1 pm at the Lubec Congregational Christian Church, located at the corner of Main and Church St. in Lubec, Maine. All are welcome to attend.

Memorial gifts can be made to the Maine Community Foundation, where Gretchen and her daughters established the James Foley Donor-Advised Fund to provide scholarship support to nursing students from Maine.