Betty Willene Hart
November 10, 1932 - May 14, 2007

Betty Hart was a woman with a personality as colorful as the clothes she wore, with a passion and zest for living, loving, and experiencing new adventures. She saw so many wonderful things in her lifetime, a life so full of fun, friendship, and most of all, family. Betty was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, who lived her life to the fullest, and taught us to do the same.

Betty's story began on a cool fall day in 1932, as the leaves left the trees in Muskegon, Michigan. Those were such difficult times in this country, caught in the grips of the Great Depression. Yet on November 10, 1932, John and Edith (VanDyke) Waldorf found a reason to celebrate, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named Betty.

Betty was the only child in the family's East Muskegon home on Catherine, and times were very tough on the family when she was a toddler. Her father found work at Muskegon Piston Ring, while her mother worked at Woolworth's dime store. During the summertime, little Betty went to live with her paternal grandparents in Grand Haven. Betty had so many fond memories of her summers with them, especially fishing off the Grand Haven pier with her uncles. She was very lucky to be close to both sets of grandparents, during the school year, her house on Chestnut Street sat just across from the home of her maternal grandparents.

Her parents never drove anywhere, and would take the train down from Muskegon on the weekends to visit her. Her parents were very protective of Betty, who had a heart murmur, which in those days was a very serious ailment, and required living a restricted lifestyle. They forbid their daughter from learning to ride a bike, but little did they know, she learned anyway! That was Betty, though, always adventurous.

Betty attended Angell School as a little girl, before heading off to Muskegon High School, where she graduated in 1951. Her graduation day was an especially big day for her, as it was also her first date with a handsome young classmate named Herman Hart. She and Herman hit it off, and quickly began dating. Betty found work at Continental, while Herman took a job at Madison Manufacturing. After a year of dating, the happy couple was married, on November 26, 1952, just a few weeks after Betty turned 20.

It wasn't long before the newlyweds became parents, with the birth of daughter Peggy, on September 25, 1953. Betty was so proud and thrilled to become a mother, and was a loving supportive and attentive parent.

In 1954, Herman was transferred to Big Rapids, so the family bought a house trailer to live in. The family set down in Big Rapids for two years, before returning to Muskegon in 1956. Once back in their hometown, the family sold the trailer and bought their first home, on Calvin Street in East Muskegon. The brand-new home cost just $10,500! The family moved in just in time to welcome their second daughter, Lisa, who rounded out the happy family on April 13, 1956.

The family lived there the next 23 years, forming so many wonderful memories in that time together. Betty was an outstanding mother, active in the girls' activities, from serving as Brownie Troop leader to having lunch ready for the girls when they walked home from school each day.

Betty also raised her daughters with a faith in the Lord, by faithfully attending Unity Reformed Church, where Betty had grown up attending, and where she taught Sunday school and Herman served on the consistory.

The Harts did so much as a family, especially the many memorable vacations and adventures they shared. They took many trips to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee to visit Herman's extended family, and many trips to the Upper Peninsula - once the girls overcame their fear of crossing the Mackinac Bridge! They also took a memorable trip to Washington D.C., too.

Betty did a lot with her girls when they got older, especially the many trips they took to Chicago to visit the museums (they saw them all), or weekend shopping excursions. Betty also made the Hart girls matching Dr. Kildaire dresses, Peggy in red (she was always in red), and Lisa in blue or yellow.

When the girls were older, Betty went back to work, as well, first for seven years at Brunswick, followed by 13 years at GTE Yellow Pages as a secretary. She retired in 1987, anxious to spend more time with her family once again, especially her beloved Herman. The couple began spending a few months each winter in Florida, even before he retired in 1993. They also took many trips to the Black Hills of South Dakota, which the couple loved so much. The women would go sightseeing, while the men went bow hunting, although Betty could hold her own with a bow, too. As the couple always said, "There is a world of things to see in South Dakota."

Betty enjoyed being retired, and she and Herman would head up north to Ludington to go salmon fishing in the summertime. She also volunteered her time in the library at Mercy Hospital, and volunteered as a docent at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts.

In 1979, Betty and Herman moved to a beautiful home on Jane Street in Fruitport, on the same day her daughter Peggy gave them their first grandchild, Erica.

Betty began having health problems in the early 1990s, starting when she fell and broke her hip in 1992. The injury required three different surgeries and a lengthy recovery, though she weathered it bravely. Her faith and her mettle was tested again the following year, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, subjecting her to rigorous treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. She beat the breast cancer into remission, but in 2005, it was discovered Betty also had uterine cancer.

Through it all, Betty remained an upbeat and integral part of her family, especially active in the lives of her beloved grandchildren. Her grandkids loved to visit her, and Erica and Stacy knew their Grandma would be at every program, game or meet they had. And when Betty's great-grandson Jacob was born, she loved going to his T-ball games, too.

Sadly, Betty died on Monday, May 14, 2007, at the age of 74.

Betty was a wonderful woman, who lived such a full and wonderful life, a life full of fun, adventure and most of all, family. She was a beloved wife, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, whose passion and zest for life lives on in the family who meant everything to her. She will be so greatly missed.

Betty is survived by her husband of 54 years, Herman J. Hart; daughters, Peggy (Tom) LaFayette of North Muskegon, Lisa (Robert) Tardani of Traverse City; granddaughters, Erica (Bill Parsons) LaFayette, Stacy LaFayette, both of North Muskegon; great-grandson, Jacob Parsons. She was preceded in death by her parents. Services are scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, 2007, at 1 p.m. at Clock Chapel-Muskegon with Rev. John Brown officiating. Interment at Sunrise Memorial Gardens.

Visitation is Wednesday, 1 hour prior to the service at Clock Life Story Funeral Home -Muskegon. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the American Cancer Society or Harbor Hospice. To share a memory or photo of Betty, or to sign her online guestbook, visit her Memory Page at www.lifestorynet.com.

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