Hettie Conrad died Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at her Schowalter Villa home, at the age of 92. She was born November 19, 1928, in Smithville, OH, the daughter of Sadie (Smith) and Jacob Conrad. She received a teaching certificate from Goshen (IN) College in 1949, then married Willard Conrad, a Goshen graduate from Wayland, IA, that August. The two of them moved to Hesston, KS, where Willard joined the Hesston College faculty.
For more than two decades, the two lived in the Hesston community, with Willard teaching and Hettie taking primary responsibility for raising their five children. In 1971, Willard made a career change. He spent the next 25 years in Mennonite pastorates in Indiana, Illinois, and Colorado. Hettie thrived in the role of pastor’s wife. She and Willard made many pastoral visits together over the years, and Hettie hosted many gatherings in their home. During Willard’s last pastoral assignment and for several years thereafter, the couple made their home in Colorado Springs. Hettie loved being near the mountains and made many dear friends during those years in Colorado.
In the year 2000, Willard and Hettie returned to Hesston after nearly 30 years of absence, to retire at Schowalter Villa. There, Hettie enjoyed various volunteer activities, foremost among them quilting. She spent many hours, as long as her health permitted, quilting in an alcove near the main entrance to the Villa, always with a friendly greeting to visitors and fellow residents as they came and went. Willard died at the Villa in 2013.
Hettie’s survivors include a brother, Carl Conrad, of Smithville, OH, and a sister, Annabelle Hughes, of Cleveland, OH. Her children are Cathy Conrad, of Albuquerque, NM; Daniel and wife Mary Ann, of Albuquerque, NM; Stephen and wife Sandy, of Goessel, KS; Sarah and husband Timothy Yoder, of Alamosa, CO; and Nancy and husband Ronald Schroeder, of Moundridge, KS. In addition, Hettie has 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. She was much loved and will be warmly remembered by all of them, as well as many friends she made over all the years of her life.
The family has no plans for a public memorial service. Memorial donations may be made to the Schowalter Villa Good Samaritan Caring Fund in care of Moundridge Funeral Home, PO Box 410, Moundridge, KS 67107.