With deep love and gratitude, we celebrate the life of Gretchen d’Armand, who passed away on August 8, 2025, at the age of 85.

Born in New York City on June 18, 1940, Gretchen spent her childhood in the Pacific Northwest – first on Whidbey Island, then in Eugene, Oregon. Music was woven into her life from the very beginning. Her mother, a professional singer, was a finalist in the National Metropolitan Opera Auditions while pregnant with her and passed along her vocal talent and love of music.

Gretchen pursued her passion for singing with dedication and grace. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music from Northwestern University and her master’s degree in music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She spent two summers studying with Madame Lotte Lehmann at Music Academy of the West and studied with renowned voice teacher, Oren Brown, for many years. Like her mother, she was a finalist in the National Metropolitan Opera Auditions, and she also won the New York Singing Teachers’ Town Hall award, a testament to her extraordinary talent and determination.

With her first husband and frequent musical collaborator, John d’Armand, and their two young daughters, Gretchen settled in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, where she taught voice at Smith College and Mount Holyoke College. In 1984, she began teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where she taught until she retired in 2001 and became Professor Emeritus of Music.

As soprano soloist, she covered a wide range from art song to oratorio, symphony, and opera. She performed works by and with composer John Duke and premiered the recording of Ron Perrera’s evocative song cycle “Apollo Circling;’ about the 1968 Apollo 8 first manned-moon orbit.

Gretchen was a beautifully expressive soprano, a brilliant technician, an incredible teacher, and a consummate artist. Her voice shimmered with crystalline clarity, vitality, and warmth.

After retiring, Gretchen happily returned to her beloved Whidbey Island, where she lived with her second husband, Peter Bennett. She sang in the United Methodist Church choir, and she performed with OutCast Productions in “Pasture-ized’; “Follies in Concert’; and “A Kid Like Jake”.

Her beloved family, friends, colleagues, and former students will always remember her radiant spirit, her generous heart, her infectious laugh, and, above all, her beautiful voice.

Gretchen was preceded in death by her husband, Peter Bennett, and her former husband, John d’Armand. She is survived by her daughters, Jeannette d’Armand and Cynthia Wilken (Jeff Wilken), her grandchildren, Shannon Sullivan, Callista Sullivan, Matthew Wilken, and Evan Wilken, her stepdaughter, Tarja Williams (Paul Williams), and step-grandson, Harlan Williams, all of whom will carry her love and legacy forward.

A celebration of Gretchen’s life will be held at The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island at 2:00 pm on November 8, 2025. For those who can’t attend in person, the service will be available online at https:/ /uucwi.org. Please join us in remembering the music, laughter, and love she shared so freely.