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Nov 15, 1945 - Feb 22, 2015
Photo - Gretchen's junior year, 1962
Gretchen Stokes, 69, of Apple Valley passed on to the arms of her Heavenly Father on February 22, 2015 in Victorville.
She was born in Pomona, California on November 15, 1945 to Dan and Ehla Jo (Hutchens) Gilbert. She had a love of literature her whole life and put this to good use after receiving her degree in English Literature at San Diego State. She went on to teach 19 years in the Hesperia School District, largely at Sultana High School. The higher ups would always say to the other teachers, "how come you don't get as high of test scores as Mrs. Stokes." Her faith in the Lord was a huge component of her character; her love of our Father was unequaled.
She is survived by her husband of 28 years, James Stokes of Apple Valley; her mother, Ehla Jo Triplett of Bakersfield; her children, Tarone Bittner and his wife Bernadette of Davis, Damien Bittner of San Francisco, Brandon Bittner and his wife Christie of Claremont and four grandchildren.
Gretchen was predeceased by her father, Dan Gilbert and her son **Torr Mixon. Visitation will be held at Sunset Hills Memorial Park, 24000 Waalew Rd., Apple Valley, CA. on March 5, 2015 at 12:30 pm, with funeral services starting at 1:30 pm.
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Sunset Hill Memorial Park - Apple Valley, CA
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Martha Gerdeman (Johnson) (1963)
Gretchen was a kind friend in HS. We first met in Girl Scouts, I joined the only troop in Claremont, when I was attending OLA. I will always remember her funny quiet way. May she dwell in the light of Our Lord. She will be missed.Judy Hinton (Spence) (1963)
From the age of 6 Gretchen & I were neighbors & best friends. We both shared a devout love of Elvis when he first became famous. We spent endless hours listening to his records, cutting out every picture printed in movie magazines, staying up all night writing "love letters" to Elvis, we were true fans. Because of Gretchen I got to see Elvis in person in 1957 at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Hollywood. If I'm not mistaken Kathy Moffet & Linda Stine also were with us, & of course Gretchen's mother Jo. Prior to seeing him, Jo took us to dinner at the Brown Derby. Can you imagine taking four 12yr old girls to such a high-end restaurant? I'm sure we were to excited to eat. Needless to say we screamed our lungs out, so much that we couldn't talk for days. Gretchen & I also went to the premier of Elvis's "GI Blues" in Hollywood, with high hopes that he would be there, much to our dismay he didn't show. However, in the summer of 1959 Gretchen was fortunate enough to meet Elvis in person, even give him a kiss! She & her mother took a trip to Europe, & the ONLY reason Gretchen agreed to go was that Elvis was in the Army at the time & stationed in Germany. He happened to be in a night club in Paris at the same time as Jo & Gretchen, she went over to his table after the show, he talked with her, gave her a kiss & a autograph. She wrote me a detailed letter regarding the event (which I still have), needless to say I was very jealous. Once we got to high school, boys, dating & going steady seem to take over our lives & we went our separate ways. Gretchen had her share of tragedy during her life with the loss of her father when we were 16, & the loss of her young son . However she went on to have three other sons, & was happily married for the last 28yrs.
Our families stayed somewhat connected, as my father went on to mentor Gretchens younger brother Dan, who became an optometrist, currently practicing in Irvine & Riverside. Gretchen's younger sister Gena is married to Dave O'Neil (class of 63). Jo, now 90 years old lives in Bakersfield, close to Greg.
Gretchen will always be a major part of my childhood, with so many happy memories! I can't listen to an Elvis song without thinking of her.
Rest in peace my dear friend!
David Lewis Mixon (1962)
Gretchen is always a happy, good soul. Enjoy Heaven Gretchen, David Mixon Blessings.