Gretchen B. Bencene was born in upstate New York and moved with her family to California in the mid-1940s. Gretchen attended schools in Salinas, Calif., where she graduated from Salinas High School and Hartnell Junior College.
Gretchen and her first husband had two sons, Douglas and Scott, in 1957 and 1958. After remarriage she had a daughter, Robin, in 1961. After moving to Oregon in 1974, Gretchen returned to college and received a BA of business with accounting concentration from Oregon State University in 1981. That year she also received her Certified Public Accountant license.
In 1983, Gretchen married Thomas E. Bedell and spent many happy hours with him on their farm in Philomath until his passing on July 3, 2012. Tom had a pilot’s license when they married and Gretchen also got her pilot’s license. They participated in several aviation organizations, including the Oregon Pilots Association. Gretchen served as local chapter president and at the state level as treasurer for nine years. They both served as officers on the Oregon Aviation Historical Museum Board of Directors. They enjoyed flying with the Oregon Historic Trails Club. Over the years they flew the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the Applegate Trail and many others. After Tom’s passing, Gretchen moved to Corvallis, where she spent the remainder of her life.
Beyond flying, Gretchen enjoyed reading, bridge, art and painting. She was an accomplished artist and was active in the Corvallis Art Guild, showing many of her watercolors there.
Gretchen is survived by her son, Douglas Beeman (Cindy) of Sacramento; daughter Robin Eubanks (Alec) of Goldendale, Wash.; stepdaughters Shelley Bedell of Portland, Ore.; Kristin Bedell (Vincent DePillis) of Seattle, Wash.; and Robin McWalters of Roswell, GA; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son, Scott Beeman.