Gretchen Ilene Kimble, 100, of Bremen, passed away at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

She was born in Bremen, March 24, 1916, to Charles N. Hiester and Jennie (Arnold) Hiester.

On Sept. 29, 1940, in First Evangelical and Reformed Church in Bremen, she married C. Dean Kimble, who survives. She and Dean were owners of Kimble’s Fur Shop in Bremen from 1940 until they retired in 1987. Her early retailing experience was working with her father during her high school years in Hiester’s Variety Store.

After graduating from high school she was a member of Bremen’s Municipal Band and assisted in the Nappanee and Bourbon bands. She played trumpet with the Bob Widmar dance band. Following her father’s death, she joined an all-girl theatre band in Chicago and toured the eastern United States. The following year she joined Count Berni Vici’s “Hollywood Ingenues” and the theatre production, “Stars Over Broadway”.

As a musician, she also sang in her church choir. She was a lifetime member of First United Church of Christ in Bremen and an associate member of First Congregational U. C. C. in Sarasota, Fla. She was also a member of the Order of Eastern Star. Gretchen enjoyed ballroom dancing, playing bridge, attending family picnics, hosting holiday gatherings and participating in church activities.

Also surviving are daughters Barbara (Richard) Reidenbach, Fishers; SuZane (Stacy) Lankford, Cassopolis, Mich.; Sara (Paul) Keyser, Bremen; six grandchildren: Lynn (Dan) Rodenbeck, David (Tricia) Reidenbach, Garrick (Tricia) Lankford, Brent Lankford, Carmen (Jack) O’Connor and Amy (Clay) Hartsell; and thirteen great-grandchildren: Michael, Jonathon and Hannah Darst; Sam and Ella Reidenbach; Christian and Allyson Lankford; Graham and Jane O’Connor; and Sierra, Josiah, Ashlyn and Lauren Hartsell.

Gretchen was preceded in death by her parents; brothers: Mahlon, David, Wendell and Arthur; sisters: Llana Huff, Jane John and Berniel Butler; and half-siblings: Marie, Esther, Fay, Helen and Robert.

Visitation will be from 3-6 p.m. Sunday, July 24, at Mishler Funeral Home in Bremen. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, July 25, at First United Church of Christ in Bremen with one hour of visitation prior to the service. Memorial contributions may be made to First United Church of Christ, 323 S. Center St, Bremen, IN 46506.