Grace Louise Heddens

September 18, 1919 – July 28, 2018

Mother, you were just a girl

So many years ago.

You had your loves and had your dreams.

You watched us come and go.

You watched as we made the same mistakes

That you had made before.

But that just made you hold us tight,

And love us all the more.

We haven’t always thought about

The things that you have seen.

To us you’ve just been “Mother”,

The best there’s ever been.

But we remember now in love

Your life from start to end.

And we’re just glad we knew you

As our Mother and our Friend.

Grace Kelly Heddens passed away peacefully early Saturday morning, July 28. She was met at the gates of Heaven by her loving husband of 43 years, Howard A. Kelly; her daughter Pamela Michaels; son Richard Kelly; and second husband John W. Heddens.

Born Grace Louise Hempstead on September 18, 1919 in Far Rockaway, New York, Grace was the oldest daughter of Henry and Georgevieve Hempstead. She was a direct descendent of John Hempstead, who arrived in America on the Mayflower and after whom the city of Hempstead, New York, was named. She is predeceased by her parents and brother Henry Hempstead and sister Jean Norton. Grace is survived by her children Barbara Sullivan, Howard Kelly, Helen Hagerstrom and son-in-law Carl, Mary Greer and son-in-law Bill, and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Upon graduation from nursing school, Grace was employed as a registered nurse at Buffalo General Hospital, where she met Howard A. Kelly, a young attorney and the love of her life. With World War II in progress, Howard enlisted in the Air Force. They married on August 29, 1942 at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Soon after, Howard was transferred to McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando. They subsequently moved to Central Florida and had 4 daughters and 2 sons. Grace gave up her career as a nurse and became a devoted wife and mother. When her husband Howard died in 1986, Grace was lucky enough to fall in love for the second time and married John W. Heddens.

Grace will be remembered as a gracious and amazing wife, mother and grandmother. Always eager to support her husband and children in their endeavors, she was the perfect role model to all who knew her. Her children fondly remember the aroma of fresh baked goods, joyous holiday and family gatherings and a welcoming and well kept home.

Grace was a devout Catholic and long time parishioner of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church . She was active in the Goldenrod Civic Center and was past president of the Cosmopolitan Club of Winter Park. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her hobbies included bridge, sewing, baking and doting on her grandchildren. In her later years, Grace enjoyed travelling and made numerous excursions throughout the U. S. and to far away lands including Alaska, Fiji, Panama and Mexico.

Following a memorial mass at St. Margaret Mary Chapel at 11:30 AM on Saturday, August 11, 2018, Grace will be laid to eternal rest at a private burial at Palm Cemetery in Winter Park.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Cancer Society, 507 N. New York Ave., Suite 100, Winter Park, FL 32789.

“Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near; still loved, still missed, and very dear.”