Althea "Thea" Ortman Heard

Althea "Thea" Ortman Heard, born Sept. 13, 1924, Cotter, Ark., died in Austin, Texas on Jan. 17, 2012. She was preceded in death by her parents Rubye and Frank Ortman and her son Mark. Thea is survived by her husband, Charles, her children, Lynne H. Williams (husband John), Stephen Ortman Heard, and David Frank Heard (wife Martha Adams), grandchildren, Blaine Williams and Elizabeth W. Crawley (husband Rob), Kelly and Mark Heard, Rachel and Alex Adams-Heard, sister, Anita Becker (and Anita's family). The family wishes to express their great appreciation for all of the staff at Casa Mesquite, Longhorn Village for the dedication, support and love shown to Thea in her final months. Thea, a talented musician, student and popular campus beauty, graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in music education. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority, Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity and the Choral Club. It was at O.U. that Thea met Charles, the love of her life. They married June 23, 1946 in Cotter, Ark., and spent over 65 wonderful years together raising a family, putting down roots and making many friends in each city where they lived. Their love for each other, dedication to family and enjoyment of life inspired all who have known them. After retirement, Thea and Charlie moved to Bull Shoals, Ark., where Thea was active in her church as volunteer choir director for 10 years, a hospital board member and a tireless volunteer in her community. Thea and Charlie enjoyed their retirement years immensely, including extensive travel, boating adventures on Lake Bull Shoals and plenty of quality time with family and friends. They moved to Austin in 2003, where Thea's zest for life enabled her to quickly become an avid Austinite. She was active in University United Methodist Church (UUMC) where a celebration of Thea's well lived life will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. in the UUMC sanctuary located at Guadalupe and 25th (parking is available in the platinum parking lot on the west side of Guadalupe across from the church). A memorial service will be held this summer at Walnut Hill Cemetery in Cotter, Ark. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to UUMC, Walnut Hill Cemetery (Perpetual Care Fund, P.O. Box 283, Cotter, Ark. 72626) or a charity of choice. Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78705 (512) 452-8811. Please visit guest book and online obituary at www.wcfish.com.