On May 8, 2014, Vibeke Gregers-Hansen, born Anne-Vibeke Kragh Petersen, 1935 in Copenhagen, Denmark, died at her home on Maid Marian Court in Alexandria at the side of her husband for 55 years, Vilhelm. She had fought a long and hard battle against the cruel disease of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Vibeke and Vilhelm met and became high-school sweethearts in 1953 in Roskilde, Denmark, where they both attended the Cathedral School of Roskilde. They were married in 1959 in the Church of Høje Taastrup at the time when Vilhelm served in the Royal Danish Navy. In 1960 they moved to Holland where Vilhelm started a new job within the SHAPE organization. After their return to Denmark, they lived in Hillerød, Denmark, from 1966 to 1969. In 1969 Vilhelm was offered a position at Raytheon Company, Massachusetts, and after much agonizing they decided to take the plunge. The move to the U.S. was difficult for Vibeke, leaving behind her mother, father, family, and friends. With time she settled down in Framingham, Mass., and made many friends there. In 1995 it became time for another move, this time to the Washington area, where Vilhelm had found a new job with the U.S. Navy after retiring from Raytheon. Again the move was a challenge for Vibeke, but she persevered and found many new friends in the Alexandria area. She was a member of the Mt. Vernon House and Garden Club and enjoyed her weekly exercise classes at the Fairfax Recreation Center, with her many friends there. Vibeke owned a small home in her beloved Denmark, and for 25 years she always looked forward to the one month in summer she spent in Hundested together with her husband, walking the beaches, taking daytrips to the countryside, eating fresh Danish fish, and visiting old friends and relatives.
Vibeke and Vilhelm had two sons, Perry and Thomas. Perry was born in Roskilde, Denmark in 1959, and Thomas in The Hague, Netherlands in 1962. Sadly, Perry died in 2002 from natural causes. Thomas lives in Bellingham, Mass., with his wife Donna.
In remembrance of Vibeke, all of her friends are invited to a gathering at our home on 7709 Maid Marian Court in Alexandria at noon on Sunday, June 29, 2014. Please RSVP and come to celebrate her life, have a drink, and enjoy a Danish lunch.