Obituary of Betty Heger

Betty Jean Gracey Heger, mother, wife, grandmother, and friend, passed away Wednesday, October 18, 2011 at the Lincoln Community Hospital. Betty was born in Winfield, Kansas on June 26, 1926, the oldest of Fern Mae Crane and Orville Roscoe Gracey’s three children. Betty grew up in Hugoton, Kansas with her younger brother and sister, Alvin Lyle Gracey and Orvelita Gracey West. She started playing the piano at age 5, and loved to sing just as much as she loved playing music for her friends and family. Betty attended Hugoton High School where she played flute in the marching band, played on the volleyball team and loved playing piano for school plays and musicals as well as performing in them. During her high school years, Betty met and dated Max Farrel Heger, a local good looking farm boy who proposed to her not once, but twice. Betty graduated high school in 1944, and after getting her teaching certificate, she started teaching school in a one-room school house. After proposing to Betty nearly a year earlier, Max proposed to Betty again on her birthday. On September 1, 1945 Betty and Max were married. To this union were born three children. Betty and Max continued to work and live on the farm in Hugoton until the summer of 1959 when they moved their family to Flagler, CO. They purchased a farm and started farming their own land, and in January 1960 the family moved into Betty’s dream home. The years flew by, and with her love of being a mother, supportive wife, and active community member there was never a dull moment at the Heger’s. Betty and Max both flew airplanes, rode motorcycles, went on hunting and fishing trips, hosted foreign exchange students, and traveled to Hawaii. Second only to her love for her family was her home and yard. She took pride in its appearance and upkeep, to the chagrin of her family and some well meaning teenage yard workers. Betty had a love of nature and had no fear of the hard work that went into making her yard bloom in all its wonder. Betty was very independent and had high expectations for all those around her. This bode well for her when she became a decorating consultant for Home Interiors. She won several state and national sales awards due to her keen eye, friendliness, and entrepreneurial skills. Betty loved to cook and entertain, including turning her hand at creating wedding cakes. She took pride in the intricate details that she customized for each person. Betty was a 33-year member of her local Rebecca's Lodge, where she often played the piano. Betty and many of her friends from the lodge were members of the Sew and Such club. When grandchildren came along, Betty became active in their lives as much as she did in her lives of her children. She served in the Girl Scout program and was the Brownie leader to one of her granddaughters. Betty drove the school bus for many years and carried her love of crafts and fun to the school bus by decorating it for every holiday, which brought smiles to even the grumpiest of morning riders. At one point, Betty and Max won an award for the most grandchildren – eight -- attending Flagler School at one time, a fact of which she was very proud of. Betty belonged to the First Congregational church where she actively participated with piano playing and accompanying her grandchildren in many Easter and Christmas programs. Betty loved to can and bake and just spoil those around her with their favorite foods; it was one of the many ways she showed her love to those around her. Betty was a generous and loyal friend who always put others before herself. She was firm yet loving, quick witted and stubborn, and very charitable with her time and talents. But most of all she loved deeply all those around her. She always looked for the good in others and wanted to forgive and forget. The joy of her life was her family and home. The joy of our lives is having been a part of hers. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Alvin, and her husband of 61 years, Max. She is survived by her three children, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Her zest for life and love of the beauty all around her will remain in our hearts and minds. She will be sorely missed and never forgotten.