Gretchen Carbaugh

Gretchen C. Carbaugh, 67, of Chambersburg, PA, passed away on Tuesday evening, September 20, 2016, in her home, surrounded by her loving family. Born on June 17, 1949, in Chambersburg, she was the daughter of the late Girard H. S. Conn and Arline F. Yost Conn. A 1967 graduate of CASHS, Gretchen continued her education at the Albert Einstein Medical Center School of Nursing in Philadelphia, where she earned her Registered Nursing degree in 1970. She was retired from OBGYN Associates in Chambersburg, where she served as a registered nurse and helped pioneer the use of sonogram technology in obstetrics. Gretchen was an owner/director of American Visions Inc. and Jerry Conn Associates of Chambersburg. She was instrumental in the development of the former Hospice of the Good Shepherd association (now Spiritrust) into the Chambersburg area serving as a volunteer on their first golf tournaments’ finance committee in 1981. She also served as a former director of the Shook Home and Totem Pole Playhouse. Following her retirement in 2000, she and her husband, Tom, started sailing and in 2002 they set out to circumnavigate the world. Upon the successful completion of their journey, they were awarded the Seven Seas Circumnavigation award. Gretchen is survived by her husband of 46 years, Thomas P. “Tom” Carbaugh, whom she married on June 13, 1970; her son, Phillip G. Carbaugh, and wife, Jessica, of Chambersburg; and her granddaughter, Francine Carbaugh, who was the apple of her eye. Aside from her parents, she was preceded in death by her aunt, Thelma Faust, with whom she was very close. Gretchen enjoyed maintaining her RN certification and was a proud member of the Professional Nurses Association of PA. She loved traveling, gardening, bird watching, music, dancing, crafting, gourmet cooking and Hershey’s strawberry Twizzlers and chocolate nuggets. She had a great sense of humor and a quick wit that we miss already. A private family service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to SpiriTrust Lutheran Homecare and Hospice, 2700 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202 or the American Cancer Society Franklin Fulton Unit, 924 North Colonial Ave., York, PA 17403. Arrangements are entrusted to the Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home & Cremation Center.