Additional information provided by Diane Elsasser Snider on 27 December 2014 - Gretchen's obituary. Source: Article from The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA, May 3, 2003 - Gretchen Velde, philanthropist, dies at age 79 She spent much of her life contributing to nutrition, education and the arts. Gretchen Swanson Velde wasn't the kind of philanthropist who wrote big checks and then went away. She became involved, lending time and leadership, said friends and family members. Velde, 79, died Wednesday in Omaha. Illness had limited her activities for the past two years, said her older son, Frederick S. "Rick" Bucholz. Velde was the daughter of Carl Swanson, a turn-of-the-century produce wholesaler who founded frozen-food giant C.A. Swanson & Sons Co. Under the leadership of Velde's brothers, Gilbert C. and W. Clarke, the company developed the TV dinner. Swanson & Sons merged with Campbell Soup Co. in 1955. Velde spent much of her life contributing to nutrition, education and the arts, in memory of her family. "Frankly, there was relatively little philanthropy at the hands of her father and brothers, so Mom felt some obligation to fill the void," Bucholz said. Velde funded the Carl A. and Caroline Swanson Galleries at the Joslyn Art Museum in honor of her parents. She also established the Swanson Gallery at the Durham Western Heritage Museum. Her most treasured project, Bucholz said, was founding and leading the Swanson Center for Nutrition, now called the Center for Human Nutrition. Another favorite recipient of Velde's money, time and vision was Brownell-Talbot Preparatory School. An auditorium and educational wing renovated in 2000 are named in her honor. "She was selfless and generous in ways that didn't always result in brick and mortar," said Dianne Desler, headmaster of the school. Velde grew up in Omaha and graduated in 1941 from what was then Brownell Hall. She attended a junior college in Philadelphia and later Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. She married Frederick Bucholz in 1944. They divorced in 1960. She married Webster Pullen in 1962 and was widowed in 1980. She married John E. Velde Jr. in 1981. He died in December. She served on numerous boards, among them the Omaha branch of the Federal Reserve Bank and Creighton University. She was chairman of the board of Swanson Enterprises, president of the Carl and Caroline Swanson Foundation Inc. and president of the Gretchen Swanson Family Foundation Inc. Bucholz said his mother was an avid golfer with an 8 handicap. She also had a passion for Wyoming, where she expressed a rugged side often unnoticed in society settings, Bucholz said. Services are set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Brownell-Talbot in the Swanson Auditorium. Survivors also include son Kurt of Saratoga, Wyo., and five grandchildren.