Charleston First Baptist Church recognizes Betty Hearnes for longtime service

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Betty Cooper Hearnes has left her mark on people and places all over Southeast Missouri, especially First Baptist Church in Charleston.

Brett Matthews, chairman of the deacons, presented Hearnes, 94, with a plaque recognizing her for "65-plus years of faithful service as music director for First Baptist Church in Charleston, Missouri," during the weekly service Sunday.

Before presenting Hearnes with the plaque, Matthews and several other members who participated in the church choir over the years spoke about Hearnes' accomplishments as music director and outside of the church, and shared stories of how she touched their lives.

Hearnes is credited for building the music program at First Baptist and keeping the church's music "current and constant," with performances in everything from gospel jazz to Handel's "Messiah" over the years.

Matthews said Hearnes is also responsible for bringing soloists, renowned pianists from colleges and organists to perform in Charleston through the years.

Betty Cooper Hearnes was awarded this plaque for her service to First Baptist Church and Charleston, Missouri.Submitted

"All the music she's brought to this community really just shows her love for music and not only for this church, but for the community," Matthews said.

Hearnes, who has lived in Charleston since she was 5-years-old, is one of the longest standing members of the church.

Pam Ferrell said Hearnes was her music teacher in sixth grade and she continued to learn from Hearnes as a member of the church choir over the years. However, Ferrel said she went above-and-beyond as a teacher.

"She was so good to all of us in the choir, and so caring for us, and seeing this today made a lot of us reminisce about all the good times and great memories that we have and how much she meant to us," Ferrell said. "We learned a lot from her, but she's also a good person on the inside, and was always concerned about us and our families ... through all these years in our small town, she's come to know all of us, warts and all, and still cares so much."

Matthews added Hearnes has held various other capacities in the church over the years, such as vacation Bible school director and church trustee. Yet, for all the "jobs" she took on, he said she never took a salary from the church.

Many know Hearnes as a "jack-of-all-trades," and noted several of her accomplishments outside of the church over the years.

After graduating from Charleston High School in 1945, she attended Southeast Missouri State University, Baylor University and University of Missouri-Columbia, in addition to fine-arts school in Arkansas, before finding her way back to First Baptist in Charleston.

Matthews said it was shortly after Hearnes graduated from college she returned to serve as the music director of the church.

Hearnes was the wife of former Gov. Warren Hearnes, the first Missouri governor to serve two consecutive terms, and the two had three children together.

In addition to her service to the church, she served in the Missouri House of Representatives for the 160th District from 1979 to 1989. During that time, she served as vice chairwoman of the Agribusiness Committee and as chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Correctional Institutions and Problems. Hearnes was involved in sponsoring bills related to testing for genetic diseases, the Child Restraint Law and research of Alzheimer's disease.

She received the 2011 Celebration Award from the Zonta Club in Cape Girardeau, which recognizes women whose accomplishments have helped them serve as role models for other women and given back to the community.

"Betty Hearnes, I feel, has the utmost respect and devotion to her God, to this church, to her community, to this state and to this nation," Matthews said. "She is an undying patriot -- she has served, she has always practiced what she preached in music and her personal and professional life and her accomplishments are numerous."

Matthews said two plaques were made so Hearnes would have one of her own to take home, and the other identical plaque will hang in the hallway at First Baptist church in Charleston for years to come.