Betty Heindel died quietly in Brookdale Skyline, Colorado Springs on June 15, 2022.
She was born on February 8, 1939, in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, the second child of Nathan Forrest and Anner Lara Looper Baker. When she was a preschooler, her family moved to Shreveport where she lived until young adulthood.
In Shreveport, Betty was baptized into the membership of the Caddo Heights Baptist Church, now Woodridge Baptist Church. She was educated in the Shreveport public schools – Atkins Elementary, Linwood Junior High, and C. E. Byrd High School. During her senior year at Byrd, Betty was elected to the National Honor Society. Betty contracted a life-threatening case of polio during a 1952 epidemic and received care in polio wards in Charity and Veterans Administration hospitals. Following graduation, she earned a diploma in Secretarial Science from Ayres School of Business, Shreveport, in April 1958.
Betty began her career in an oil company in Shreveport but moved to Colorado where she worked first for Sanborn Camp and then Colorado Interstate Gas Co. During this period, she met John Heindel and they married on August 8, 1968.
On February 1, 1968, Betty began a distinguished career in the administrative staff of the Air Force Academy. Before retirement on July 3, 1998, she had served as administrative assistant to 18 Vice Commandants.
Betty’s husband, John, preceded her in death in Colorado Springs on July 21, 2021. Both parents preceded her in death in Shreveport, Louisiana.
She is survived by a sister, Delma Baker Dowler of Shreveport, Louisiana, and brother, Nathan Larry and wife, Wanda, Baker, of Liberty, Missouri. Survivors of the Baker family include
four generations as do those of the Heindel family.
Betty’s family expresses profound gratitude to Carl Hagans and his deceased wife, Andrea, for their loving care for Betty during her years in Colorado Springs, and especially the years following retirement. Her family also expresses gratitude to Rev. David Dunkerton for his ministry to Betty and John during their residency in Brookdale Skyline.
For Betty’s long life that embodied love and faith, integrity and courage, and the pursuit of excellence, her family gives thanks to God who enriched our lives through her.
A memorial service will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. on July 19, at the Shrine of Remembrance, with a reception to follow.
Betty’s family suggests gifts to Lumicare Hospice of Colorado Springs or an organization of choice in lieu of flowers.