Gretchen Morgenstern, 89, a longtime public schoolteacher, the president of Robinson Milling Co., a devoted civic volunteer, and avid world traveler, died Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, in Salina, Kansas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mildred Robinson Morgenstern and Edmund Morgenstern; her mother’s family and her father, subsequently, owned and operated Robinson Mill before she took it over after his death in 1975. Born Aug. 2, 1932, in Salina, Kansas, Morgenstern attended Oakdale Elementary and Salina Junior and Senior High Schools. During high school, she showed horses competitively, and she worked summers at the mill. She attended Monticello College in Godfrey, Illinois, for two years and transferred to Kansas State University, where she majored in elementary education and was a member of Pi Beta Phi women’s fraternity. After graduating from KSU in 1955, she taught first and fourth grades in Abilene, Kansas, then relocated to Okinawa, Japan, where she taught elementary school on a U.S. Air Force base for two years. She then returned to Kansas to continue her teaching career for several years in Abilene and Salina. For nine summers, she worked as a riding program supervisor, horseback-riding teacher, and counselor at Camp Lake Hubert for Girls in Lake Hubert, Minnesota. In 1975, she earned a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of North Dakota. After leaving teaching, she owned a gift shop in Salina for four years, and she continued managing Robinson Milling Co., which transitioned into an investment enterprise.

Morgenstern committed much of her life to service, particularly for causes devoted to women, children, and education. She was a foster parent to 75 children over a 12-year period, and she served as both vice-president and treasurer of the Saline County Foster Parent Association. Over the years, she served as board chair of Youthville, a Kansas nonprofit devoted to at-risk youth, board president of the Salina YWCA, and president of the American Association of University Women (Salina branch). She served additional board terms for AAUW (Salina branch and Kansas division), Kansas Wesleyan University, Kansas Action for Children, and Friendly Acres retirement community. She also served as AAUW (Kansas division) treasurer and member of the finance and international relations committees. In 1994, she was honored as Kansas AAUW’s outstanding branch member, and an AAUW grant was created in her name. The consummate volunteer, she also was a Girl Scout leader, and she donated countless hours to Salina public schools and to Asbury-Salina Regional Health Center, including managing its gift shop.

She was a member of the Salina Chamber of Commerce; Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional society for women educators; the National Education Association; and the International Reading Association. Morgenstern had an extraordinary passion for travel, and she took an international trip almost every year for decades, visiting a total of more than 100 countries and every continent except Antarctica. She also loved animals, and from age 9 on, she owned at least one dog and often two or three at a time. Among her great joys was volunteering at Salina’s Rolling Hills Zoo, where she assisted with animal care and educational programs. Morgenstern was a devoted United Methodist and a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church of Salina, where she was baptized. She served on many church committees, including staff-parish, finance, trustees, and missions. She also volunteered in the church office, and she was a member of the Crusaders Sunday school class.

Morgenstern is survived by several cousins and her adopted family, Steve and Beth Wilke of Winfield, Kansas; Paul and Janelle Wilke of Topeka; Susan and Rob Fuquay of Indianapolis; Sarah Wilke and Nancy Kruh of Nashville, Tennessee, and the couples’ children and grandchildren; and Larry Giebler of Salina, as well as countless friends, former students, and her precious schnauzer, Li’l Bit.

Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Salina First United Methodist Church with the funeral service to follow at 2 p.m. Private interment will be at Gypsum Hill Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina First United Methodist Church, or the charity of your choice.