Sally Hekkers

1944 - 2016

Sally Hekkers passed away on Thursday, June 30, at Swedish Medical Center from complications involving COPD and pneumonia. She died peacefully with her family at her side after saying her goodbyes and hearing her family's professions of love. Born in Great Bend, KS, on September 1, 1944, as Sally Jo Webster, she grew up in Hays, KS, with her parents Morgan and Juanda Webster and her siblings Robert and Jeanne. After high school, she married Bill Walters in Hays and they had two children together, Michael and Tonya. Sally and Bill divorced in 1968, and Sally moved to Denver as a single mother raising two kids. She attended the University of Colorado at Denver and was the editor of the University newspaper during turbulent political times. She graduated in 1976 with a B.A. in English and landed a job as a newspaper reporter for the Sentinel Newspapers in the Denver suburbs. She also worked at the Denver Public Library, a wonderful job for a life-long book lover. She met and married her soul mate, Jim Hekkers, in 1976, and they had two children together, Jennifer and Brett. Jim and Sally worked together on free-lance writing and photography assignments, and on one such project in Taos, NM, they married. In 1989 the family moved to Chattanooga, TN. That community embraced and loved Sally. She worked for the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, establishing the city's first news bureau and successfully generating national news coverage of the city. Jim's career in the public aquarium business led to further moves for the family, including to Monterey, CA, in 1993 and back to Denver in 1997. Sally's willingness to pick up her roots several times in support of her husband is merely one example of her generous heart. In 2001, Jim and Sally moved back to Monterey, this time without their adult children. Sally became involved in the local branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), serving in several leadership roles, including co-president. She volunteered for Hospice of the Monterey Peninsula and was honored as a volunteer of the year by the United Way in 2013. One of her greatest passions with AAUW was the branch's local scholarship program that helps bright, talented young women in need of financial assistance for college. In July of 2015, Jim and Sally moved back to Denver to be near their 4 adult children and 5 grandchildren. While she struggled with her health over the past year, she was grateful for the quality time she spent with her family in her last year of life. Sally was beautiful, compassionate, intelligent, and extremely charming. She also appreciated the eloquence of a succinct paragraph. Sally is survived by her husband, Jim; her two daughters, Tonya Hardman (husband Chris) and Jennifer Hekkers Taylor (husband Scott); her two sons, Michael Walters and Brett Hekkers (wife Kihra); her sister Jeanne Rott; and her 5 adored and adoring grandchildren: Austin, 18, Avery, 7, Finn, 4, Elsa, 4, and Amelie, 1. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12, at Good Shepard Episcopal Church, 8545 East Dry Creek, Centennial. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Monterey Branch of AAUW Local Scholarship fund. Make the check out to: 'AAUW MPB Local Scholarships' and note 'Sally Hekkers Memorial' in the memo field. The check should be sent to: AAUW MPB P.O. Box 1786 Monterey, CA 93942.