1929
Betty
2014
Betty Perkins Herwig
December 19, 1929 — August 2, 2014
Betty Perkins Herwig, born Betty Jane Fretz, died peacefully on August 2, 2014 at Sweet Life of Brookdale in Overland Park, Kansas. She lived a full, loving and energetic life with an optimistic spirit. In 2010, she wrote in a message to her family, “I want you to know for sure that my life has been a wonderful journey!”
She is survived by sisters Pauline Tucker and Julia Fretz, her brother-in-law Courtney Perkins, 6 of her 7 children, 10 of her 11 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and many cherished nieces and nephews. She lived most of her life in the Kansas City area and leaves many friends from all aspects of her life – from Linwood Methodist Church, Central High School, South Presbyterian Church, Hillcrest Covenant Church, neighbors, friends of her children and from her career in real estate.
Betty was the youngest daughter of six girls. She was born December 19, 1929 in Bogard, Missouri, a small farming town in Carroll County, where her father Harry Fretz managed a general store. She moved with her family to Kansas City when she was three when her father joined his older brother, John Warden, to work in Kansas City’s garment district for a uniform factory that he and his brother eventually came to own as Fretz Brothers White Goods Company at 617 Wyandotte. She learned about hard work from her father and mother, Bess Chinn Fretz. She attended Seven Oaks Elementary School, also attended by her two oldest children, Sam and Jan; Central High School and Kansas City Junior College, where she got an associate’s degree.
Betty married Samuel Parker Perkins November 24, 1948; they were together 47 years until his death in 1995. She married Bill Herwig, also a member of Hillcrest Covenant Church, in 2002. Sadly, Bill preceded Betty in death in May 2014. Betty often said how blessed she was to have been married to two wonderful, loving men. Bill and Betty were active in their church and had many friends with whom they enjoyed dinners out and games of rummikub at the house.
Betty was 18 and Parker 19 when they married while he attended University of Kansas City, now UMKC, Law School. They rented their first house from Parker’s mother, Clara Perkins, at 56th and Paseo. They had Samuel Parker, Jr. in September 1949. They then bought their first house on East 77th Terrace, which had a large backyard with a pear tree from which they made pear honey. Their neighbors invited them to attend the nearby South Presbyterian Church, and the Perkins family soon joined, along with Parker’s mother, and became active in all aspects of the church. Betty and Parker loved children and had six more: Janet Claire, born in 1951, followed by Dianne Christine in 1953, Donald Weston in 1954, Perry Kevin in 1955, Jill Lynn in 1961 and Mark Cameron in 1964. The family moved to Prairie Village in 1957 and in 1977 they moved to Overland Park.
She enthusiastically supported her grandkids’ achievements and activities. Betty went to many soccer, baseball and basketball games for Josh, Dylan, Sarah and Ryan. She traveled to high school and college graduations: Annie and Ben’s in Salt Lake City, UT; Kaitlin’s in Mesa, AZ; and Taylor and Cameron’s in Creve Coeur, MO. Betty loved hearing two of her grandkids play the piano –Taylor and Harriette. And Sam’s young daughter Clara was a delight to Betty at the family dinners.
Betty loved to travel. She and Parker had a grand time on their trips to Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She flew to Salt Lake City to visit her daughter Dianne and family and adventurously went cross-country skiing, enjoying every minute of it. Betty traveled to Sanibel Island, FL to visit her dear friend Vera Giese where they rode bicycles to get ice cream. She and Bill went on an Alaskan cruise, drove to see her sister and brother-in-law Pauline and Ken Tucker and their sons Ken and Steve and families in Memphis, TN; flew to Stockbridge, MA in the Berkshires with her daughter Jan and husband Sandy Groves; visited Bill’s sister and her husband in Arizona; drove to Rockford, IL to see her sister Julia and her son Ross and his wife Janice; and made numerous visits to her son Mark and his family in Creve Coeur, MO.
Betty’s home was always the hub for family and many friends. Holiday gatherings were large, noisy affairs. Family and friends would gather for delicious meals, with grandkids and great-grandkids running around and much good cheer and laughter. “The more the merrier” was her attitude! The house was always open to friends of her children – to whom she was like a mother. Friends like Trish and Ron Gerard and their daughter Shea, and Menoni Ize-Iyamu, a friend of Sam’s who stayed with the family one summer and became like a son to Betty and Parker. Friends Wilma and Bill Riddell lived across the street from Betty and Bill and came over frequently to share a story or meal. She loved it when her nieces and nephews came to the house for a visit or called.
Music was a mainstay for Betty. She and Parker both sang in the South Presbyterian Church choir and instilled a love of music in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was an accomplished pianist. She played classical pieces ranging from Rachmaninoff to Chopin. Family gatherings were for singing, with Betty playing the piano. She played Christmas songs and fun old pieces for the family to sing, such as “Side By Side” and ”This Old House.” She had an uncanny ability to sight-read music or quickly transpose a song to a better key for the singers.
Betty was also an avid photographer. She took pictures of everyone and every occasion. She wanted to document and revisit all the occasions where she was with people she loved and the adventures she took. She could be expected to pop up with her camera at any time. She was also an artist. In her late-60s she took a class in pastels and painted a number of beautiful pieces. She also played bridge for many years with “the Wednesday bridge group.”
Betty had her hands full with seven children and stayed home running the household while they were young. She attended all school events, was her children’s biggest cheerleader, made clothes for Janet and Dianne, and encouraged all her children in their music lessons, studies and sports. She made homemade cinnamon rolls, Christmas cookies and birthday cakes. She popped popcorn for her girls’ slumber parties.
She began working outside the home when the older children were in high school, and her first job was selling Avon products. She then worked for Woolf Brothers on the Plaza and the Jones Store in Prairie Village. Betty eventually found her way to real estate, which was a perfect fit with her love of people and her business acumen. She worked for Kroh Brothers, which was bought by J.D. Reece, which then became ReeceNichols. She actively sold homes until she was 80 and then continued on a referral basis. Even after her stroke in April 2013, she made four referrals. She was proud of her work. When her adult children were visiting from out of town, she would often take them with her to an open house or to put up a “for sale” sign.
Betty believed deeply in the promise of Jesus Christ and knew she would be in Heaven after her passing. Hillcrest Covenant Church played a key role in her life. She leaves a legacy of love, of what it means to be a family, of people helping each other out through thick and thin. She is deeply missed and will always be – and she will continue as an example of what it is to be there for others, as she always was for her family and friends.
In her 2010 message to family she wrote,
“We loved each of our children equally, tried to give them each their individual needs, realizing their personalities differed, and tried as we could to instill the message of the Bible to them, the traits we wanted each of them to own for themselves; the message of love, forgiveness and courage and the encouragement to each other and to all they would meet in their lives!”
She is survived by sisters Pauline Tucker and Julia Fretz, her brother-in-law Courtney Perkins, 6 of her 7 children, 10 of her 11 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and many cherished nieces and nephews. She lived most of her life in the Kansas City area and leaves many friends from all aspects of her life – from Linwood Methodist Church, Central High School, South Presbyterian Church, Hillcrest Covenant Church, neighbors, friends of her children and from her career in real estate.
Betty was the youngest daughter of six girls. She was born December 19, 1929 in Bogard, Missouri, a small farming town in Carroll County, where her father Harry Fretz managed a general store. She moved with her family to Kansas City when she was three when her father joined his older brother, John Warden, to work in Kansas City’s garment district for a uniform factory that he and his brother eventually came to own as Fretz Brothers White Goods Company at 617 Wyandotte. She learned about hard work from her father and mother, Bess Chinn Fretz. She attended Seven Oaks Elementary School, also attended by her two oldest children, Sam and Jan; Central High School and Kansas City Junior College, where she got an associate’s degree.
Betty married Samuel Parker Perkins November 24, 1948; they were together 47 years until his death in 1995. She married Bill Herwig, also a member of Hillcrest Covenant Church, in 2002. Sadly, Bill preceded Betty in death in May 2014. Betty often said how blessed she was to have been married to two wonderful, loving men. Bill and Betty were active in their church and had many friends with whom they enjoyed dinners out and games of rummikub at the house.
Betty was 18 and Parker 19 when they married while he attended University of Kansas City, now UMKC, Law School. They rented their first house from Parker’s mother, Clara Perkins, at 56th and Paseo. They had Samuel Parker, Jr. in September 1949. They then bought their first house on East 77th Terrace, which had a large backyard with a pear tree from which they made pear honey. Their neighbors invited them to attend the nearby South Presbyterian Church, and the Perkins family soon joined, along with Parker’s mother, and became active in all aspects of the church. Betty and Parker loved children and had six more: Janet Claire, born in 1951, followed by Dianne Christine in 1953, Donald Weston in 1954, Perry Kevin in 1955, Jill Lynn in 1961 and Mark Cameron in 1964. The family moved to Prairie Village in 1957 and in 1977 they moved to Overland Park.
She enthusiastically supported her grandkids’ achievements and activities. Betty went to many soccer, baseball and basketball games for Josh, Dylan, Sarah and Ryan. She traveled to high school and college graduations: Annie and Ben’s in Salt Lake City, UT; Kaitlin’s in Mesa, AZ; and Taylor and Cameron’s in Creve Coeur, MO. Betty loved hearing two of her grandkids play the piano –Taylor and Harriette. And Sam’s young daughter Clara was a delight to Betty at the family dinners.
Betty loved to travel. She and Parker had a grand time on their trips to Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She flew to Salt Lake City to visit her daughter Dianne and family and adventurously went cross-country skiing, enjoying every minute of it. Betty traveled to Sanibel Island, FL to visit her dear friend Vera Giese where they rode bicycles to get ice cream. She and Bill went on an Alaskan cruise, drove to see her sister and brother-in-law Pauline and Ken Tucker and their sons Ken and Steve and families in Memphis, TN; flew to Stockbridge, MA in the Berkshires with her daughter Jan and husband Sandy Groves; visited Bill’s sister and her husband in Arizona; drove to Rockford, IL to see her sister Julia and her son Ross and his wife Janice; and made numerous visits to her son Mark and his family in Creve Coeur, MO.
Betty’s home was always the hub for family and many friends. Holiday gatherings were large, noisy affairs. Family and friends would gather for delicious meals, with grandkids and great-grandkids running around and much good cheer and laughter. “The more the merrier” was her attitude! The house was always open to friends of her children – to whom she was like a mother. Friends like Trish and Ron Gerard and their daughter Shea, and Menoni Ize-Iyamu, a friend of Sam’s who stayed with the family one summer and became like a son to Betty and Parker. Friends Wilma and Bill Riddell lived across the street from Betty and Bill and came over frequently to share a story or meal. She loved it when her nieces and nephews came to the house for a visit or called.
Music was a mainstay for Betty. She and Parker both sang in the South Presbyterian Church choir and instilled a love of music in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was an accomplished pianist. She played classical pieces ranging from Rachmaninoff to Chopin. Family gatherings were for singing, with Betty playing the piano. She played Christmas songs and fun old pieces for the family to sing, such as “Side By Side” and ”This Old House.” She had an uncanny ability to sight-read music or quickly transpose a song to a better key for the singers.
Betty was also an avid photographer. She took pictures of everyone and every occasion. She wanted to document and revisit all the occasions where she was with people she loved and the adventures she took. She could be expected to pop up with her camera at any time. She was also an artist. In her late-60s she took a class in pastels and painted a number of beautiful pieces. She also played bridge for many years with “the Wednesday bridge group.”
Betty had her hands full with seven children and stayed home running the household while they were young. She attended all school events, was her children’s biggest cheerleader, made clothes for Janet and Dianne, and encouraged all her children in their music lessons, studies and sports. She made homemade cinnamon rolls, Christmas cookies and birthday cakes. She popped popcorn for her girls’ slumber parties.
She began working outside the home when the older children were in high school, and her first job was selling Avon products. She then worked for Woolf Brothers on the Plaza and the Jones Store in Prairie Village. Betty eventually found her way to real estate, which was a perfect fit with her love of people and her business acumen. She worked for Kroh Brothers, which was bought by J.D. Reece, which then became ReeceNichols. She actively sold homes until she was 80 and then continued on a referral basis. Even after her stroke in April 2013, she made four referrals. She was proud of her work. When her adult children were visiting from out of town, she would often take them with her to an open house or to put up a “for sale” sign.
Betty believed deeply in the promise of Jesus Christ and knew she would be in Heaven after her passing. Hillcrest Covenant Church played a key role in her life. She leaves a legacy of love, of what it means to be a family, of people helping each other out through thick and thin. She is deeply missed and will always be – and she will continue as an example of what it is to be there for others, as she always was for her family and friends.
In her 2010 message to family she wrote,
“We loved each of our children equally, tried to give them each their individual needs, realizing their personalities differed, and tried as we could to instill the message of the Bible to them, the traits we wanted each of them to own for themselves; the message of love, forgiveness and courage and the encouragement to each other and to all they would meet in their lives!”
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