Gretchen Edgren, 84, a former Oak Park resident, died on Sept. 16, 2015 at her home in Holmes Beach, Florida. Born on March 17, 1931 in Portland, Oregon, she attended Pendleton High School, and, after graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, she worked on newspapers, The Oregonian in Portland and the San Juan Star in Puerto Rico. She became a longtime Playboy magazine editor, and, before her semi-retirement in 1992, she was a senior editor of Playboy and subsequently served as contributing editor until 2013. She was the author of five coffee-table books about Playboy, its Playmates and the Playboy Mansion. While in Oak Park, she was president of the Civic Arts Council, served on the boards of the Oak Park Concert Chorale and Village Players and sang with the Oak Park Concert Chorale, Heritage Chorale, Civic Symphony Chorus, and the choirs of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church and Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest.
She moved to Florida in 1992 and joined the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus, Musica Sacra Cantorum and the choir of the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation. She was a member of the board of directors of Anna Maria Island’s ecumenical group, All Island Denominations, and was active in local chapters of Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Delta Delta. She and her late husband, Alvin “Bud” Edgren, served for a dozen years as coordinators of the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch program.
Gretchen Edgren is survived by her children, Amy McNeese-Mecham and Terence J. McNeese; her sister, Molly Beiningen; and her stepchildren, Amanda McNeese, Karl Edgren, and Cathy Raymond. She was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin Edgren.
Services are scheduled for Sept. 26 at the Church of the Annunciation in Holmes Beach.
Memorial contributions may be made to the church, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, Florida 34217; the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra, P.O. Box 1213, Holmes Beach, Florida 34218; Musica Sacra Cantorum, P.O. Box 50581, Sarasota, Florida 34232; the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, 2214 Avenue B, Bradenton Beach, Florida 34217; or WSMR, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, Florida 33620-6870.