Gretchen (Pfaff) Riley ’66
Floral Designer, Horticulturist, Daffodil Judge, Community Volunteer, and Philanthropist
Education: University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Sociology
How KPS Influenced Me: The combination of my parent’s unconditional love and my Kent Place education empowered me to be who I have become — a strong confident woman. Kent Place was a very nurturing, happy, safe place. What a privilege it was to go to a school like that. At the time, it didn’t offer art classes — a true passion of mine — in the Upper School, only in the Middle School. But the school found a way to support me by allowing me to have hours of private art lessons. I have such fond memories of walking up to Else Chambers art studio on the third floor every week.
My Proudest Accomplishment: I’m most proud of my three children. In addition to raising them, I’m proud of the volunteer and philanthropic work my husband and I have participated in over the decades in the Philadelphia region. There is incredible need all over the place. My parents raised me to always give back, and I have worked hard to serve that need. As graduates of the University of Pennsylvania, my husband and I are committed to the school and have established a full scholarship as a way of giving back.
Among other nonprofits and organizations, we’re very involved in the Salvation Army; I’m on the Advisory Board of the Philadelphia Krok Center. Recently, we supported the Salvation Army’s New Day Women’s Drop-In Center in Kensington, a very troubled part of Philadelphia. I met with the center’s two social workers for a tour when it opened — it was a grimy storefront, but it has been a beacon of hope for women suffering from substance abuse and trafficking. It’s one thing to give, but to see the impact you can have with your own eyes is tremendously impactful.
I am also pleased to be able to consistently contribute to Kent Place — an English classroom in my sister’s memory (Marilyn Pfaff Pollard ’63), a math classroom in my name, and a donation to the upcoming capital project for the arts and athletics, to name a few gifts. I loved my time at Kent Place and I feel inspired to support the Kent Place School of today.
What I’m Doing Now: When I began at Penn, I was enrolled in a dual BFA program in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. While I had artistic talent, I realized the challenges of pursuing a career as a working artist. I knew I was never going to make a living from art, so I switched my major to sociology. But if you have artistic talents, they always find a way of percolating out. My talent has been in floral design. As a gardener and floral designer, I’ve exhibited nationally and internationally, and I have judged floral design and horticulture throughout the U.S. I competed in the Philadelphia Flower Show for 35 years. My current passion is knitting — I make all kinds of sweaters for my four granddaughters.
Advice for My KPS Sisters: Empower yourselves by helping to empower others. When you help someone else, you build strength in yourself as well.
(Picture) Gretchen is the oldest woman to have climbed the Via Ferrata in Alaska (a steel cable path to a glacier)!