Gretchen June (Wendt) Dunkerley passed away peacefully at home, Thursday, December 4, 2025, after a 12-year battle with cancer. She spent her final days at home, surrounded by her beloved family and dogs. She was a devoted wife, former elementary school teacher, and mother of four children.

Gretchen was born August 25, 1964, at Hollywood Hospital in Hollywood, California, to Michael Eric and Carol Jean Wendt. Gretchen grew up in many places including Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Missouri; where she attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and studied to become a nurse. It was there she met her future husband, G. Patrick Dunkerley.

Gretchen and Patrick were married on December 24, 1984, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tyler, Texas, and they were married for over 40 years. During the years before the birth of their children, Gretchen earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1988. She also helped support a Bible translation mission to the Noni people of rural Cameroon, Africa, by teaching school to the missionary children there for one summer. Gretchen believed the Bible is the inspired word of God and a great tool for evangelism and discipleship. Gretchen taught second grade at Charles Wright Elementary School in Merced, CA, and subsequently taught in the Jennings School District near St. Louis, MO. Their first child, Gary Daniel, was born in 1995, and she became a full-time mom.

In 1996, the couple moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where their children, Cara Louise and Nathan Patrick, were born in 1997 and 1999, respectively. In 2001, they moved to Twinsburg, Ohio, and their fourth child, Faith Elaine was born in Cleveland, OH, in 2004. In 2006, they moved to Overland Park, Kansas, where they resided for 17 years, before moving to Cleveland, MO. The couple completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk (also known as the Way of Saint James) in Spain, September 2025.

Gretchen was intelligent and curious, an avid reader of biographies and spiritual books, especially her Bible. She loved children and animals, was a talented painter, and had a kind and lively personality. She liked cooking, hiking, gifting, and serving others, especially school children and her family. Her family and friends loved her very much and she is greatly missed. Gretchen is survived by her parents, Michael Eric and Carol Jean Wendt, of Chandler, TX; her brother, Eric Wendt, of College Station, TX; her sister, Holly Jones, of Pearland, TX; her sister, Karen Wynn, of Chandler, TX; and her loving husband and four children. Gretchen worshiped and loved Jesus Christ and sought his guidance and salvation during her life. She was a member of Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Leawood, KS.

A prayer vigil is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at J. E. Keever Funeral Home Chapel in Ennis, TX, with a rosary starting at 7:00 PM. The Funeral Mass is December 17, 2025, at 9:00 AM at the Saint John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Ennis, TX, followed by burial at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Ennis, TX, under the direction of J. E. Keever Mortuary, Inc. Flowers can be sent to J. E. Keever Mortuary at 408 N Dallas St., Ennis, TX 75119. In honor of Gretchen gifts are suggested to be sent to ministries for orphans, or the poor such as Cross Catholic Outreach www.crosscatholicoutreach.org or Christian Alliance for Orphans www.cafo.org or similar ministries; or your local animal rescue shelter.