Gretchen A. (Nunan) Erb, 76, of Texas and Cape Porpoise, died peacefully Wednesday evening, June 30, 2021, at her son’s home following a battle with cancer.
Gretchen was born March 21, 1945, in Biddeford, the daughter of Raymond and Ardelle (Eaton) Nunan. She is a 1963 graduate of Kennebunk High School and further attended Holy Ghost Hospital School of Practical Nursing graduating in 1964. She was employed as an LPN for many years in Massachusetts and in upstate New York.
In 1995, she retired with her husband Herb to travel full-time in their RV. After Herb passed in 2001, she continued to travel the country where she spent summers in Kennebunkport and then going to visit her daughter Stacey, where she was always available to support her while she was on assignment in the Air Force.
Gretchen would spend most winters in Quartzsite, Arizona, living off the grid in her RV. Gretchen loved to travel, and she made friends every place she went. Some of Gretchen’s trips included Alaska, Okinawa, Japan, Azores, Portugal, Stuttgart, Germany, Ireland, Canada, Bermuda, Hawaii and every state in the U.S. In her travels, Gretchen would work odd jobs. During the summers she worked many years at the Kennebunkport Motor Lodge. She also worked for Amazon one year filling orders and then two years at the annual sugar beet harvest in Minnesota. The sugar beet job led to being quoted in the book “Nomadland.”
Gretchen is predeceased by her loving husband of 30 years, Herbert Erb, their son, Bradley Erb, and her brother, Dale Nunan.
Survivors include her son Ryan and Amanda Erb of Kennebunkport, her daughter Stacey Isaac and her partner Thomas Roy of Arundel, four grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Abbey Erb, Noah and Lily Isaac, her sister-in-law Eleanor Nunan of Cape Porpoise, her brother-in-law Bob and Barbara Erb of Canada as well as a loving family and community throughout the country who adored her.
Gretchen always enjoyed being surrounded by family and friends. Her request was to have her family and friends celebrate her life and gather for “Tea Time” on Monday, July 12, 2021, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, 57 Gravelly Brook Road, Kennebunkport.
Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made to the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 550, Chicago, IL 60631 or American Cancer Society.
To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit Gretchen’s Book of Memories Page at www.bibberfuneral.com.
Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, ME 04043.
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