- Date Of Birth: June 9, 1921
- Date Of Death: July 5, 2017
- State: Colorado
Lorene Elda Hewett was born 9 June 1921 in Goessel, Kansas to Alvin J and Marie Schmidt Schroeder. Her father was so glad to have her join the family and said he could pick her out of 100 children, because she was so beautiful! In the next 11 years 3 siblings also joined the family: Hilma Delores, Merlin Lewis, and LaVern Allen.
She attended Hochfeld School through 8th grade and Goessel High school, and then was so happy that her cousin came and advocated for her to attend Bethel College in Newton, Kansas, by saying he could get her a job to pay for her room and board and her grandmother said she would pay the $100 for tuition. Her dad had told her that girls did not need to go to school. After her 1st year she received a scholarship for her second year, which enabled her to get a good job teaching at Springfield school, a 1st thru 8th grade school. She taught all 8 grades, and was also the set up and clean up person, but her students helped her start the fire in the wood stove in the winter. The first year she earned $25/month, and the second year got the biggest raise in the district to $50/month. She had a major in English and minors in history and social studies, speech, typing, German, and psychology, so she could teach many subjects.
She then transferred to the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, for summer school, because she had loved the mountains since the family traveled there after having small pox and surviving, in her younger years. She would never return to live in Kansas, because it was there that she met Marvin (“Bud”) Hewett who asked her to marry him on their first date. She sewed her wedding dress at his sister’s house in Cheyenne, Wyo.
They had purchased their first house and 13 acres north of the Boulder Airport where Bud was working. There they would live, remodel the house, build on an addition, raise cattle, grow hay and raise their 5 children, Janet Suzaine (Scott) Muhn, Connie Lorene Hewett, Anita Renee (David) Hahn, Cheryl Yvonne Ward (Jere Surber), and Gregory Scott Hewett, for the next 52 years, when Bud died in 1996. Lorene taught school off and on when the school boards would come and beg her to teach. Her 1st love was raising her children, but she also loved teaching children who were behind and bringing them ahead. She was also active in politics, but her other love was her garden! Some of her posterity have inherited her talent, producing beautiful gardens wherever they are.
After Bud died, Lorene was blessed to live in her house until her death. Lorene loved gardening (she said, “That is my hobby”).
She is survived by her 3 siblings, 4 children, 16 grandchildren: Alisa (Russell) Rasmussen, Nina (Richard) Austin, Richard (Lisa) Muhn, Samuel (Sarah) Muhn, Cherise (Dan) Everett, Jefferson (Megan) Muhn, Michael (Jenny) Hahn, Andrew (Caren) Hahn, Rebecca (Travis) Holman, Katie (Connor) Buie, Julie (Chandler) Whipple, Daniel (Ashley) Hahn, Jennifer (Josh Baurle) Ward(to be married in October), Tanya (Will) DeGerlia, Calle’ and Kyra Hewett; 40 great grandchildren: Chantry, Nathan, Riley, Kya and Jewelie Rasmussen, Laura (Chase) Asher, Micaela, Ryan, Sarah, Gabe and Matthew Austin, George Muhn, Savannah (Matthew) Cartwright, Nicole Everett, Thomas, Christopher and Matthew Muhn, Madelyn, Lucy, Charlotte, Greta, Sawyer and Calvin Hahn, Calise ,Seth, Ivory, Mathias, Aksel and Grayson Hahn, Teoden and Mason Holman, Chas and Leila Buie, Emily and Patrick Whipple, and Kollette, Atreyu, Rufio, Azailia, and Perrin Hahn and 2 great, great grandchildren: Iris Lynn and Tucker Cartwright, and a community of wonderful people who cared for her, who have been by her side, cleaned her house, kept up her yard to her standards, and practiced with their band in her garage. She passed in her sleep, July 5th, 2017, from an enlarged heart, due to natural causes of age. She is preceded in death by her husband, Bud Hewett, her daughter Connie Lorene, 2 grandchildren : Heidi Suzaine and Christina Lorene Muhn, one son-in-law,Thomas Scott Muhn and 2 great grandchildren, Haley and Michael Muhn.
