Nancy Hedrick
Obituary
Nancy Goering Hedrick passed away Jan.
26, 2018. She was born May 19, 1926, in Newton. She grew up in Newton
and attended Newton High School. She went on to receive two degrees
from the University of Kansas, a Bachelor's Degree in personnel
administration in 1948 and a Master's Degree in Political Science in
1949. Nancy taught at KU as a graduate assistant in her field of
study. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha Honor
Society. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
In 1949, she married Clay Hedrick, also
from Newton. They lived in Newton until Clay was called to active
duty in the Korean War. Nancy, along with their 18-month-old
daughter, Janie, flew to Japan to join Clay. They lived in Japan for
almost three years. While there, Nancy took every opportunity to
enjoy the experience and the culture.
They moved back to Newton in 1953 and
had their son Clay III, "Trip," in 1954. Nancy took art
lessons and began doing pastel portraits of children for family and
friends. In 1964, she started teaching sociology courses at Bethel
College. In 1968, she changed careers and was named Assistant
Administrator at Prairie View Mental Health Center. Prairie View, a
psychiatric hospital, was started in 1954 by the Mennonites. Prairie
View became the first mental health center in Kansas. Nancy became
the Director of Personnel and was responsible for starting their
volunteer program in 1969.
After 29 years to the day at Prairie
View, she retired from personnel, but continued as Director of
Volunteers. Under Nancy's leadership, the volunteer program was
recognized nationally and served as a model to organizations starting
new volunteer programs. When she retired, there were more than 119
active volunteers. Nancy authored 10 publications for professional
journals and presented at eight national conventions on the topic of
volunteerism. Nancy was listed in Who's Who in the Midwest in the
17th and 18th editions of Marquis Who's Who, Inc.
She was selected as 1981 Newton
Business and Professional Woman of the Year in the field of business
and professional service. She served on the Chamber of Commerce and
Newton Health Care Council, Board of Leadership Newton, was a charter
member of the Kansas Hospital Personnel Management Association and a
member of the American Society for Health Care Human Resources
Administration & United Way. She was also a member of St.
Matthew's Episcopal Church, P.E.O. Chapter AG and Junior Reading
Circle.
Clay and Nancy enjoyed extensive
travels. She was a wonderful grandmother to her three grandsons and
great-grandmother to her nine great-grandchildren. Nancy and Clay
moved to The Forum in Overland Park four years ago to be closer to
family. They would often say how fortunate they were to have met so
many wonderful people at The Forum.
Nancy leaves behind her husband, Clay;
her son, Trip, and his wife, L'Louise; her daughter, Janie, and her
husband, Tom; grandsons: Bill Grant and his wife, Sarah, Joey Grant
and his wife, Shanna, and Bob Grant and his wife, Anne; her nine
great-grandchildren; and her sister, Susan Goering Koehn.
A memorial service will be held at 2:30
p.m. Saturday (Feb. 10, 2018) at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in
Newton. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can
be sent to St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 2001 Windsor Drive,
Newton, KS 67114 and Prairie View, Inc., 1901 E. First St., Newton,
KS 67114.
