Gregory Paul Albrecht was born October 3, 1957 in Renton, WA to parents Vern and Patricia Albrecht and went home to be with Jesus early in the morning on June 2, 2022. Even though he lost his almost 6-year battle with cancer, there wasn’t a day that went by that he wasn’t the most positive guy you knew. Even after his diagnosis, anytime you would ask him how he was doing he switched from his long-time classic response, “Better than some, worser than others” to “blessed and highly favored”. 

Greg had 3 siblings, Debra Robarge (Allen), Tom Albrecht, and Susan Albrecht and 5 nephews on his side of the family. He was close with his sister Deb, and they were always partners in crime. They spent lots of time together teasing their siblings, yet the one thing they all teased Greg about was how skinny he was. They used to say that Colonel Sanders from KFC was after him. Greg was the captain of the ski team in high school, and he never had an issue convincing a girl to go on a date with him (despite the red sport coat and plaid pants he wore to prom). 

Greg definitely got his sense of humor and joking nature from his dad, Vern. He always told the story of the infamous summer when Greg’s cousin Mike Burke came to stay with the family in Deer Park. Their escapade involved breaking windows in an old, abandoned nearby house, mobster cars, drinking purloined beer, and getting into trouble. Father Vern told the boys that this abandoned house nearby had money hidden in the basement floor, so they spent their time digging through the floor to strike it rich. They never found any money and as Mike affectionately put it, “your dad always drank the raunchiest beers!” 

Greg attended University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and graduated in 1979 with a degree in Business Information Systems. It was here that he met one of his lifelong friends and mischief makers, Mike Trowbridge. After school they both “worked” (I use that term loosely - if you have spent any time with them, then you know what I mean) at ITT Financial together as their first job and spent their free time drinking Wisconsin beer, trout fishing, and giving everyone in sight a hard time. For Halloween once they dressed up as Hans and Franz but they were forever there to “Pump you up”.

Greg was married for 32 years to Barb Pieterick and they had 2 amazing (if I do say so myself) kids, Brittany Albrecht Mixon and Brett Albrecht. He was remarried in July of 2012 to Charlotte Albrecht and had a stepdaughter, Brittany Luwkaski. They lived in Irving, TX down the street from his friend and fellow Coppell High School soccer announcer, Pete Racicot. Greg and Pete spent 4 years of cold Friday nights in the announcer box sipping on “hot chocolate”, playing good music, and cracking jokes over the stadium loudspeaker. Greg and Pete remained friends after the kids graduated and kept their tradition of watching all the Masters golf tournaments together while drinking and eating way too much.

Growing up with Greg as a father was never dull. He knew just the right amount of fun to poke at you blended with the right amount of love. He took the family on annual trips to Cancun, Mexico and he made sure the kids knew the “2 most important phrases in Spanish (as he put it), “Uno mas cerveza, por favor” and “Donde está al bano?”.  He imparted the kids with infinite wisdom and key life tips such as, “You can marry more money in five minutes than you can make in a lifetime.” One of Greg’s hobbies was playing golf.  Greg and his friends used to pay Brittany to get up at 4am on Thursday morning every week to make sure they got the 7am tee time for Sunday. The weekends that weren’t spent at a kid’s sporting event, Greg took the kids with him to hang blinds, his side gig. He used to pay them a couple bucks to help, but the quality time and conversations with him were priceless. Greg was always the best at supporting people with their ideas and passions. When Brittany was training to compete in a fitness competition, he would go to the gym and spot her, head out to the field to time her sprints, and they would spend their Saturday nights eating sushi and Ben and Jerry’s together.  He built his first computer with Brett and would take him to see all the “guy” movies. He had a unique way of knowing when you needed love and support. When Brett lost his high school lacrosse state championship game and was trying to be the tough guy, Greg knew he was upset and came and gave him a big bear hug.

​​When Greg found out he was going to be a grandpa, he was positive Grandpa wouldn’t become his new name. I’m pretty sure he wanted to relive his secret dream of being a fighter pilot or being Tom Cruise in Top Gun, but since Maverick was taken, he settled for Ace. He was a loving grandpa to 4 blue eyed, wild, yet adorable little guys, Huntley (4.5 years old), Cayden (2.5 years old), Beckett (15 months old), and Paxton (1 month old).

During his fight with cancer Greg participated in a drug trial in Houston. He was fortunate to have one of his lifelong friends, Doug Odle, offer him a place to stay. Greg and Doug met at a Dale Carnegie course in the early 80’s and became instant friends. Doug sold Greg his first house in Coppell, which happened to be 3 houses away from his. They spent their weekends and early mornings before work water skiing and enjoying life together. Greg had his small plane pilot license, and they would often hop in a plane and take a weekend trip. Once, they were on their way to Wichita Falls and Greg let Doug fly the plane. Doug questioned what it was like to fly through a cloud. Greg responded, “Well you aren’t supposed to, but go ahead!” Like many things in his life, Greg was willing to try almost anything once. They had a great flight until they landed and realized they were at the wrong airport! Doug is the one that got Greg into the flooring business. He had a long career in sales and he was good at it. He had a way of being able to connect with anyone he met. Throughout his career he had some awesome colleagues and friends such as Donna Schmalian, Charles Patterson, and Stephen Powell, all who came to support Greg in his final days. 

Greg grew up in the church, but in 2008 he consciously accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and firmly believed Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. In his last weeks he had comfort knowing that “Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Jesus will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Jesus and believes in him will never ever die” (John 11:25-26) and he knew he would be in heaven with a new “glorified body” (Philippians 3:21). Greg was passionate about being able to spend eternity with all of the people he loved throughout his life and I know he doesn’t want to go to heaven without you!

I imagine Greg is currently sitting around a table in heaven with all of his family that preceded him in death, his parents Vern and Patricia Albrecht, his brother Tom, and his sister Susan and they are playing cards, having a drink, and reminiscing about the good times they had. The idea that you only pick on those you love is true, so if you were ever the butt of one of his jokes, you were definitely well loved by him. All of the stories and facts written above are mostly true. As Greg always said, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!”

There will be a Celebration of life service at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX scheduled on Saturday June 25 at 10am. This will be followed by a party (he wouldn’t want anyone sitting around crying) at Times Ten Cellars in Dallas. 

Everybody has a Greg story, and we would love to hear them all. Also, no flowers please. If you feel compelled to do something other than show up, the family is seeking donations to offset the expense of Greg’s ridiculously expensive taste in scotch, which we will toast him with.