Obituary of Cecelia D'Ann (Hedges) Hellstern

Cecelia D’Ann (Hedges) Hellstern, age 75, went to be with her Lord on July 12, 2019 in Dallas. While unexpected, her passing was peaceful.

Born the eldest daughter of Walter P. Hedges and Norma J. Hedges in Iberia, Missouri on October 21, 1943, D’Ann inherited her mother’s elegant sense of style. Two sisters followed not long after, Mary Sue (Suzy) and Christy - and the three girls became the light of their parents’ lives.

The family moved to Camdenton for D’Ann’s senior year of high school where she became the football queen within a few weeks of her arrival. She also held the title of Dogwood Festival Queen that year.

She studied at William Woods College for two years and then transferred into the University of Missouri where she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, an organization she would admire and participate in for the rest of her life. She became a devoted teacher.

She married Ronald A Hellstern at the Hedges Funeral Home in Camdenton, Missouri in December 1963. They had one daughter, Andrea “Melissa” Hellstern in 1970, which she always said was her greatest accomplishment. As a Navy family, they moved to Emerald Isle, NC, Bethesda, MD, and Vieques, Puerto Rico until their daughter was school age, when they moved to Dallas, where she spent the rest of her life.

In Dallas, she taught school for more than 25 years, most of that time in the Dallas Independent School District. She remained devoted to her church, Highland Park United Methodist Church, just as the congregation did to her. After retirement, she stayed involved in Theta, was a skilled bridge player and enjoyed the freedom of having more free time.

With great love, her family is grateful for so many who played important roles in her later life, including her caretaker and friend, Tesha Lewis, her neighbors Bill and Carolyn Clark, and Rev. Bubba Daley and Carissa, her kind friends from the church including Mary Bishop, Grace Ann Woodruff and Rev. Barbara Marcum, and her trusted care from Dr. Beth Kassanoff.

She is survived by her daughter, Andrea Melissa Hellstern, her sister and brother-in-law Mary Sue and Jon Heine, her nephew Ryan Heine, and her niece Kimberly (Heine) and Charlie Nettles, and their children Wells, Mays and Perry, named after her great-grandfather Walter Perry.

She is preceded in death and will be laid to rest next to her sister Christy (Hedges) McGeough and her parents, Walter and Norma Hedges.

Services will be held Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 11:00 am at Hedges-Scott Funeral Home, Camdenton, Missouri.  The family will welcome friends for visitation from 10:00-11:00 am prior to services at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Highland Park United Methodist Church’s United Methodist Women group.
HPUMC UNW
3300 Mockingbird Lane

Dallas, TX 75205

or donate online at:  hpumc.org/umw