Delores Mae Heussner

Delores Mae Heussner was an American homemaker, church volunteer and longtime resident of Hale, Missouri, who died on October 15, 2026, at the age of 88. She was born Delores Mae Hewitt on September 8, 1938, in Aurora, Illinois, the daughter of Samuel Richard Hewitt and Clara Louise (Deckert) Hewitt. She graduated from Elburn High School in Elburn, Illinois, in 1956.

In 1958 she married John Arthur Richards, who died in 1970. Later that same year she married Russell Alvin Heussner, who died in 1991. Across both marriages she raised five children and spent her life centered on her family and her community in rural Missouri.

She was not a public figure in the conventional sense of politics, entertainment or sport. Her significance, as recorded in local reporting at the time of her death, rested in the quieter work of raising a family and serving her community. She worked for several years as a cafeteria cook at the Hale School, and she was known locally for her cooking, baking and gardening. She was an active member of the United Methodist Church of Hale, Missouri, and of the VFW Auxiliary, where she gave her time to support military veterans and their families.

Delores Heussner died at her home in Hale, Missouri, on the afternoon of Thursday, October 15, 2026, surrounded by her family. No cause of death has been made public. Her death was reported through a funeral home notice and picked up by local Missouri news outlets in the days that followed.

She is survived by her two daughters, Nancy Dee Officer and Kelly Sue Richards, and her three sons, Bradley John Richards, Clinton Russell Heussner and Jason William Heussner, along with 12 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and her sister, Marlene Clara Hewitt. Funeral services are scheduled for October 20, 2026, at Lindley Funeral Home in Hale, Missouri.