Mary Heppting

Mary Heppting (nee Miller) was born in Denver, Colorado on October 20th, 1937 and took her final journey home on June 9th, 2021. She was the eldest child of Ina and Evan Miller. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Evan and Ina, her younger brother, Dick and her son, Joel. She is survived by her husband, John; daughter and son-in law LaNia and Steve Schaller; grandchildren, Tabtiha and Kara Schaller, Eva Heppting, Jake Heppting, Lisa and Ellis Pittman, Justin and Sarah Schaller; great grandchildren Blythe and Beau Schaller; sister-in-law Carol Miller; nieces and nephews-in-law Lisa and Steve Wathen, Carrie and Rob Mowder and a host of many loving and dear family and friends.

Mary graduated Valedictorian from Bennett High School and continued her education at Denver University. Mary worked in the front office of the Emily Griffith Opportunity School where she was a beloved member of the staff until her retirement.

Before her work at the Opportunity School, Mary worked at Mountain Bell in Downtown Denver where she met the love of her life, John Heppting. The two tied the knot on July 3rd, 1957. John and Mary would have celebrated 64 years of happiness this July. For most of their marriage, John and Mary worked together at Heppting's Suede and Leather, a leather cleaning shop that had been in John's family for years. Once they were unable to work in the shop, Mary went to the Opportunity School where she finished her professional career. Together, they were members of the Model A Club for 38 years. During that time they took several trips all over the country, participated in parades, and enjoyed get-togethers with their good and dear friends in the club.

Mary was an avid Colorado Rockies baseball fan. She loved watching the Rockies play the Giants at Candlestick park with her son, Joel. Since he lived in California, they couldn't always go to the ballpark together, so instead, they would text each other throughout the game as if they were sitting right next to the other. Mary was absolutely thrilled to see the Rockies make it to the World Series in 2007 and even more thrilled when she got to attend one of the games at Coors Field.

Mary's other love was music she was always signing or playing the piano. Over the years, she was a member of several choirs and loved performing in musicals such as “Guys and Dolls”, “Oklahoma”, “The Sound of Music” and “Broadway”. Most recently, she performed with the Show Stoppers at Clermont Park putting on many recitals and shows.

Anyone who knew Mary knew she was a strong, positive and caring person. Even faced with “unbeatable” circumstances, Mary never lost her light. In 1999, she was diagnosed with cancer and given a mere six months to live. That wasn't good enough for Mary so she beat it and 21 years later, remained cancer free.

Mary always had a smile for everyone she met. Her undying love for her husband, family and friends touched all who knew her. She will be missed.

Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 1pm at McConaty Family Chapel, 1091 South Colorado Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80246.

Please share memories of Mary and condolences with her family by signing the Tribute Wall above.