The following Eulogy was prepared by Grethe's eldest son Kurt and was recited at her funeral service on October 01, 2005:

We are here on this beautiful autumn morning both to mourn the passing and to celebrate the life of Grethe McKenna. We mourn because she is no longer with us, and we will miss her very much. At the same time we celebrate her life. A life that taught us so much by the way she lived and the example she set.

She was adventurous soul, and she loved to travel with her father on his boat. She would tell us about trips that took her to Sweden, Denmark, and other parts of Norway. As an adult she traveled from Norway to England, where she got married and Ken was born. Later she moved back to Norway, where Ann was born. A few years later she decided she wanted a better life for us, so we packed up and came to Canada. I can only imagine the kind of courage it takes to pack up and move with.3 small children to a strange country with no family or friends to help you.

From the very beginning she worked hard to take care of her family. Her first job in Canada was at the Cineplex Odeon theater on Bloor Street. Occasionally she would get us passes so we could come and watch the movies when she was working. I can still remember watching Ben Hur and Moses with Ken and Ann. I can also recall her first day at at another job shortly after we moved to West Hill. The work involved welding, and at the end of her first day she had been tired and anxious to get home to see how we were doing, so she had hopped straight on the bus. When she got home and looked in the mirror she let out a scream. When you are welding you wear goggles, and when you take the goggles off you have two big white circles around your eyes, and a dark face from the welding fumes. She was so upset she had been riding on a bus like that.

She loved good company and good fun. At home she would have a big dinner at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, where she would cook for over a dozen people. I never realized how much work that was until Nicki and I did it, but somehow she made it look easy and enjoyable. During the time we had a trailer at Kashe we would sit around the fire at night and talk. At times several of the other families camping there would come over and join us, and mom would be there, making coffee and tea, passing out cookies, cake, and sandwiches, and generally making sure everyone was having a good time. Even on her last day, in the hospital, she managed to have a good laugh. When one of the nurses came in to see how she was doing, the nurse pointed to Ann and asked mom if she knew who she was. In her typical 'snappy answer to silly question' mom replied 'why don't you ask her, she's standing right there?'.

She was a considerate and loving mother. I will always have fond memories of the fish and chip dinners on most Fridays, and the big turkey dinners at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. She made sure we enjoyed the holiday celebrations. She also made sure we had whatever we needed, whether it was for school, or summer camp, or any other reason.