Grace Recher, 94, passed away Monday morning, April 17, 2023, at Homewood Healthcare Campus, Lebanon. She was born February 17, 1929, in Wayne County, Kentucky, one of nine children of Marshall Randolph Ragan and Etta D. Hicks. A 1948 graduate of Perry Central High School in Boone County, Indiana, she attended Indiana Business College and worked at Western Electric in Indianapolis. On August 19, 1950, Grace married Kenneth Recher in New Castle, Indiana. Together they raised four daughters in the Lebanon Community. Ken preceded her in death in 1999. While raising her daughters, Grace volunteered as a Girl Scout Leader and a Red Cross Swim Instructor. She worked at Paul Harris Store, Shelby Chevrolet and Jaggers Harris Chevrolet as office manager. After retiring Grace and Ken traveled the country, and especially enjoyed trips to Panama City Beach, Florida, where they had many friends.
A devoted mother, grandmother, great grandmother and sister, Grace loved being surrounded by her family. She will be remembered as an avid Lebanon Tiger basketball fan, loved the Chicago Cubs and attended many of her grandchildren’s sports and activities, loudly cheering them on. She was a charter member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Lebanon, a member of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, and was usually found teaching Sunday School. Grace loved gardening, growing vegetables of every kind in a huge garden with Ken, sharing with her family and friends the bounty of their labor. Her flower garden around her house was her pride and joy and brightened everyone’s day. She was an active member of the Hoosier Heritage Quilt Guild, sewing hundreds of quilts, many as gifts, and was proud to win awards at the Boone County 4H Fair. Grace could be found many mornings enjoying breakfast at McDonalds with her friends.
Survivors include a sister, Nancy L. Smith, Atlanta, Georgia; four daughters, Debbie (Gary) Pietrangelo, Sunbury, Ohio; Barbara (Bill) Bowen of Sheridan, Indiana; Linda (Randy) Denger, Lebanon, and Nancy (Mark) Stauffer, Del Mar, California; 15 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the staff of Homewood Healthcare Campus and Excel for Grace’s care.
Family and friends will gather Sunday, April 23, for visitation from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the Strawmyer & Drury Mortuary, 2400 N. Lebanon Street, Lebanon. A funeral service will be held Monday, April 24, at 11 a.m., with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. in the Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 3650 W. 106th St., Carmel, IN 46032. Grace will be laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lebanon.
Memorial contributions in her memory may be made to the Pilgrim Lutheran Church.
