Greta Jill Frohbieter

Boulder lost a great citizen and a wonderful soul on December 16th when Greta Jill Frohbieter succumbed to her battle with Melanoma. Described by her family as "a daughter, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, and a best friend," Greta spent a great deal of her life here in Boulder, but her generous spirit reached far beyond our county's boundaries. Born March 16th, 1961 in Bremerton, WA to parents Patricia (Nordman) Geffe and Elmer "Pete" Geffe, Greta graduated from Interlake High School in Bellevue, WA in 1979. She furthered her lifelong passion for knowledge at the University of Washington, earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1983. She then worked as an aerospace engineer with RCA Astro-Space in East Windsor, NJ before embracing the teaching profession as a math teacher at Hedgepeth-Williams Middle School in Trenton, NJ. Greta married Alan Frohbieter on August 24th, 1986 in Cranbury, NJ. In 1995, they relocated to Boulder, and Greta worked as a founding math teacher at the now-prestigious Summit Middle School. During her time in Boulder, Greta continued her education, working tirelessly to earn a Masters in Math Education and pursuing her doctorate in the same field; she embraced her studies as long as life allowed. Beyond her academic ambitions, Greta enjoyed many diverse activities. She loved skiing, traveling, scuba diving, jogging, flying, woodworking, cross-stitch, mountain biking, and, more recently, hiking with her grandson. Additionally, she was very active with St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, NASA's Educator Astronaut Program, and the Colorado Haiti Project, the latter affording her the opportunity for multiple mission trips to assist with math education in the troubled nation. Greta is survived by her loving family: husband, Alan Frohbieter (Superior, CO); her parents, Patricia and Pete Geffe (Bellevue, WA); son Brandon Frohbieter (Arvada, CO); daughter Kara Donoghue (Phoenix, AZ); brother Kurt Geffe (Bellevue, WA); sister Rosalind Ando (Seattle, WA); grandson Dominic Frohbieter (Arvada, CO). A memorial service will be held on December 29th at 2:00 PM at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, officiated by Mary Kate Rejouis. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church (2425 Colorado Ave. Boulder, CO 80302) or the Melanoma Research Foundation (www.melanoma.org) at 1411 K. Street, NW Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005.