It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Gretchen Scott passed away on September 12, 2026, in Savannah, GA. She was 86 years old and courageously battled scleroderma for the last 5 years of her life.
Gretchen first came to the Bay of Islands with her parents, Agnes and Erwin Schafer, and her brother, Mike Schafer, in the summer of 1953. They stayed at Moredolphton Lodge for a week with four other families from Indianapolis, Indiana, including the Walkers and the Withrows. Gretchen recently recalled her favorite memories of that trip: fishing all day, every day, having shore lunches at Flat Point, participating in talent shows after dinner in the Lodge’s main dining hall, and wearing those heavy wool plaid jackets and a kerchief on her head.
She next returned with her husband Fred over several summers in the 1980’s to stay with her bother, Mike and his wife, Marianne, on their Island, Isle de la Pierre (now Monarch Island). Finally, she and Fred joined the Bay as permanent summer residents in 1989, purchasing Bluebell Island (now Blueberry Hill) from the Moore family.
Gretchen and Fred treasured summers with their children and their spouses, grandchildren, Mike, and Marianne Schafer and their two boys, Matt and Ben. In 2024, she was joined by Matt’s wife, Laila and their daughter Coralee. Gretchen was the family’s “celebrator-in-chief,” organizing summertime gatherings to mark important milestones: birthdays, graduations, marriages, births, “Christmases and Thanksgivings in July,” and countless other happy occasions. If there was a reason to bring the family together, Gretchen found it—and made it memorable.
She and Fred made significant and long lasting friendships with multiple generations of Bay families…too many to name, Gretchen continued to visit the bay annually, even as her illness progressed. Many will recall her arrival at the BICA Fish Fry a year ago, being carried like the Queen of Sheba. There she celebrated her 85th birthday with her BICA friends and family. It was her last visit to the Bay.
We extend our condolences to her family: The Allisons – Lisa, David, Schafer, Reese and his wife Madi, and Scott Allison; the Scott-DeVoes – Cory, Julie, Charlotte and her husband Jose, and Harper; the Schafer’s – Mike, Marianne, Ben, Matt, Laila, and Coralee.
Her full obituary can be read here.
Bay Of Islands Community Association