Heide Everett

1948 - 2020

Heide Everett

Lansing - Heide Everett

16 July 1948 - 18 December 2020

Heide ended her long journey thru life on 18 December 2020 after suffering a very rapid and fatal bout with the Coronavirus.

She had started that 72-year journey on 16 July 1948 in the small East German town of Gnoien in the state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern. It continued in 1950 when she and her mother (Frieda), father (Erich) and sister (Karla) fled in the middle of the night across farmer's fields to enter West Germany and settle in her mother's hometown of Schweinfurt; the "ball-bearing capital of world." She always told the story of the wonderful farmer who helped them escape and included the grim detail that her family was the last he was able to assist; he was arrested and the family never learned of his fate.

Her journey continued when she became a kindergarten teacher at age 20; a profession she pursued when she met her husband Tim in 1981. He was serving in the U.S. Army at Schweinfurt and after their marriage in Germany in 1983, she came to the United States to live with him. When asked over the years why she never became an American citizen, she would say, "I love living in America, but I am a German. I live here because my husband lives here."

Heide joined the volunteer services of Ingham County Hospital (now McLaren-Greater Lansing) in 1984 and served over 36 years; right up to 1 month before she passed away. In that capacity she met many friends and brightened the lives of countless people with her unique qualities of compassion and genuine friendliness. If anyone has visited the Penn Campus of McLaren during last 10 years, they may have met Heide as she performed her volunteer duties at the admissions desk. If you have met her there, it is doubtful you have forgotten her.

Heide was preceded in death by her mother (Frieda), father (Erich) and sister (Karla). World War II and its aftermath in Germany shattered Heide's German families and she was the last remaining member. She is survived by her husband Tim, her step-daughter Natalie Chewning and 2 step-grandchildren, Corryn and Tyler.

Heide's long journey is complete; she was a confirmed member of the German Lutheran Church and is certainly with her maker. She will be sorely missed by all she ever came in contact with. No funeral services are planned; a celebration of life will occur when the current pandemic allows. Her ashes will be interred in the Hauptfriedhof Schweinfurt to join her German family.

Heide truly loved all animals and always took exceptional care of the four cats she lived with over her time in America. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are encouraged to the Capital Area Humane Society.

The family is being served by Tiffany Funeral Home.

www.TifanyFuneralHome.com