Georgia Francis (Heydenreich) Baty was born on Saturday, January 3rd, at 11:45 PM, 1931, to Emil and Lila (Bradshaw) Heydenreich. She was the 4th of 8 children, and I think it safe to say, she wanted to be the boss. She went to school at Sunflower Rural School #39, the same school her dad went to and all her siblings.
Georgia and her younger sister Jane would often run home so they could listen to the “Lone Ranger” on the radio. It was always disappointing if the news or some sporting event was on instead. After graduating from the 8th grade her dad took her to town, showed her a room, got here a job and said, this is where you are going to live.
She was 14 when she started high school in Medicine Lodge and she hated it. She didn’t like anything about school, but there was one guy she had her eyes set on. During school she worked as a waitress at Rosler’s Café at morning, noon and night for her room and board while going to school.
The guy she had her eye on also worked for the Rosler family. He milked cows in the morning and at night, and regularly came into the Café to have breakfast or lunch. Georgia let the others know that she was to serve him, no matter where he sat.
Georgia graduated from Medicine Lodge high school with the class of 1949. She married the guy who she had her eyes focused on, one of her classmates, Montie Wason Baty on Feb. 17th, 1950.
(They had 63+ years together before he died. ) Later that year they had their first boy, Mike, and the following year they had their second son, Terry. Georgia was a stay at home mom.
Somewhere in this timeframe she contracted polio and ended up in isolation in the hospital and had an iron lung in the house for a short time, but came out healthy. Around 1954 they moved to newton as Montie worked for the Kansas Department of Transportation. In 1955 they had their one and only baby girl, Debra Ann.
Six years later they had their final child, another boy, Doug, in the same town. The family moved to Leoti and then to Syracuse where both Mike and Terry graduated from high school in “68” and “69” respectively, and then they moved to Norton where Debbie graduated in “73” and then in 1977 they moved to Garden City when finally the empty nest became their new reality in 1980. Georgia was never bored, she kept busy over the years by being involved with Girl Scouts and Boy scouts.
She was very crafty and painted China. She painted many beautiful things and gave them away. She painted Forget-Me-Nots, roses, daisies, and sunflowers, along with windmills and other interesting scenes.
In the 80’s Georgia worked as a shop teacher in a school for the handicapped just outside Garden City KS called Valentines school. She taught them safety along with how to make some simple items like stools, benches and simple wood toys. Georgia tried out flying as Montie got his pilot license, but she wouldn’t do the solo flight.
She became a certified swimming instructor for the Red Cross and taught hundreds of kids how to swim over the years, including her grandchildren. Georgia and Montie played bridge and became very good. They even went to a state tournament and placed 3rd in a Duplicate Bridge Tournament in the 80s.
She didn’t watch much TV, but in the evening if there was a cowboy show on and someone else wanted to watch it, she was all in. Georgia went with Montie on hunting trips and in 1974 had her first successful Elk hunt. She went several years with him in mid-October, enjoying the fellowship of her son Mike, her brother Fred and a brother-in-law DeWane.
Mom loved family. She enjoyed going back to Medicine Lodge over the years to go to the Peace Treaty and visit her side of the family and she enjoyed going to Mountain Grove for the Baty side. She and Montie took many vacations staying at relatives’ homes along the way.
Georgia also loved to work with flowers, especially irises, and she liked to work with her hands by making an afghan for every one of her children and grandchildren. She learned to sign for the deaf and had a deaf friend Carol that would visit a lot. But mostly mom loved her church family and its’ Savior.
When I (Doug) was a kid mom would visit nursing homes and take gifts to her neighbors, I was taken along. She read the Bible on her own, and mom and dad together taught me to read with the Living Bible (this took 3 years), and they participated in home Bible studies, and helped with Bible Bowl in Norton and Garden City. Mom didn’t sing in the choir, but she tried to make a joyful noise.
Mostly she just smiled. And she loved having people over. Mom was a great cook and hospitable.
Georgia Francis Baty died with family surrounding her. Death ended her 10 year struggle with Alzheimers’ disease on March 8th at 4:18, in the home of Doug Baty where she lived since 2013. Georgia was preceded in death by her husband Montie Baty, her parents and one grandson Jason Chapas of Parker CO, 3 sisters: Florence Hindman of Med.
Lodge, Grace Estes of Pratt, Lucille McMurtry of Omaha NE, and one brother, Roy Heydenreich of Mountain View CA. Survivors are her children Michael and wife Gigi Baty of Durango CO, Terry and wife Gail Baty of Forrest Park MN, Debbie Baty of Parker CO and Doug and wife Randee Baty of Parsons KS, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, 2 sisters, Jane Ewert of Wichita KS and Joyce Harris of Memphis TN and 1 brother Fred Heydenreich and wife Clara of Crawfordville FL along with many friends and extended family. Services will be held at Westside Christian Church in Parsons KS on Saturday the 16th for a memorial service at 11:00 AM followed with a meal and fellowship.
There will also be a service at the First Christian Church in Medicine Lodge on Saturday, March 23rd at 10:30 am with viewing on Friday the 22nd from 10am – 7 pm. The family will be present from 5-7 pm. at the Larrison Funeral Home in Medicine Lodge.
Memorial gifts can be sent to the First Christian Church P.O. Box 284 Medicine Lodge KS, 67104 or to Westside Christian Church, 5100 Main, Parsons KS, 67357 in care of Larrison Funeral Home, 120 E. Lincoln, Medicine Lodge, KS 67104. Condolences may be left at www. larrisonmortuary.com.
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