| Honored by: | Andrea Hefty |
| Brick location: | C:28 map |
Andrea is a great deal like other people. She never walked on the moon or sailed around the world by herself, but she does contribute every day to my life and has contributed many things to the lives of others. She was born on September 2, 1944, and this is the year of her fiftieth birthday. In honor of this birthday, I would like to honor her.
Not only is the Carrie Chapman Catt Plaza of Heroines special to women, it is special to Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. Carrie was a member and Andrea was the ninth member in our family. This is a bond that I feel is worth recognizing. Andrea was a member of the 1965 pledge class of Minnesota Alpha, at the University of Minnesota where she graduated with two Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Andrea has dedicated her life to children. She has spent thirty years of her life making children a priority, over twenty of which were spent teaching. I want to honor her dedication to the field. Andrea ran a small nursery school in Minneapolis where she directed and taught. Here, many hours of service and love were spent to further enrich the lives of the children who attended. I do believe she honestly made a difference in the lives of these now grown teenagers and adults. She gave them the right start in life at the most critical time for developing character. Her program was one of the best. She made every child feel loved, intelligent and happy. She gave them goals and dreams; a gift most would never forget.
Today, she still works hard trying to insure the safety and proper care of the children of Minnesota, through her job as a Human Services Licensor for the State. This is a job she often complains of, but she keeps forging through for the betterment of the children.
Yet, most importantly, Andrea gave all of herself to being my mother. Not one other person has had a larger effect on my life than she. She raised me as a single parent, from the time I was five. We struggled through many hard times together, but she never gave up and she never gave up on me. She has always had the utmost faith in me and I know she is proud of what I have become and what I have done. For that, I honor her. She is the backbone that kept me going and keeps me going. She needs to take the credit for how I am today – happy, intelligent and strong. And for that, I honor her. I sincerely hope, that someday, I can be the mother that she has been to me.
By giving her this honor, I hope she realizes all she has contributed to this world and the people in it. She has a family who loves her, a daughter that loves her, and many children that are grateful to her for the contributions she made to their lives. I hope that every time she sees her name engraved in the Plaza of Heroines, she remembers that she, too, is a Heroine to many and especially to me.
Happy Birthday Mom!
Love, Andrea Bonney Hefty
Submitted on 8/94