Former governor nominee and party chair Betty Hearnes dies

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Former political powerhouse and Southeast Missouri trailblazer Betty Hearnes died Thursday, Dec. 14. She was 96 years old.

Hearnes, a longtime Charleston, Missouri, resident, was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1979 and reelected four times. In 1987, she was elected chairwoman of the Missouri Democratic Party. In 1988, she was the Democratic nominee for governor of Missouri following an overwhelming victory in the Democratic primary. She lost to John Ashcroft in a bid to become the state’s first woman governor. She was formerly a teacher, a leader within the Missouri Baptist Convention and was known to sing at important events. She was also a supporter of the arts.

Betty Hearnes was the wife of Democrat Warren Eastman Hearnes, the 46th governor of Missouri, who served in that capacity from 1965 to 1973. They were married from 1947 until the time of his death in 2009.

In a release issued by the state organization, “The Missouri Democratic Party is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former First Lady Betty Cooper Hearnes, a devoted public servant and Democratic Party leader.”

In the release, Jean Carnahan said, “There’s no first lady of Missouri that I admired more than Betty Hearnes. Her do-it-all, have-fun and never-give-up attitude served her well throughout her extraordinary life of service to her community and state.”

Gracia Backer, a former state representative and personal friend of Betty Hearnes called the former first lady “the epitome of a public servant,” she was quoted as saying in the release from the party. “Betty never stopped serving the people of this state.”

Locally, Hearnes was admired for not just politics, but her musical roles in the community, particularly in the church.

“She led a good life — a very, very productive life,” Hearnes’ longtime friend and Mississippi County Clerk Hubert “Junior” DeLay Jr. said. “Her life is definitely one to be celebrated.”

DeLay said he and Hearnes have so many memories, it’s hard to pick a favorite.

Betty Hearnes, right, accompanies her husband, former Gov. Warren E. Hearnes, at the Sikeston, Missouri, municipal airport upon their return to Charleston, Missouri, after he left office in January 1973. Betty Hearnes passed away Thursday, Dec. 14. (Gordon McBride ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

“Who could have experienced what she has gone through in her life — serving as first lady of Missouri, running for governor, and she was a very effective state representative?” DeLay said. “She was the first lady of Charleston for many, many years. I hope she’s remembered for all she has done for the community of Charleston, the county of Mississippi and state of Missouri. We loved her so much.”

Betty Hearnes was born July 24, 1927, in Brinkley, Arkansas, to the Rev. Allen Britten Cooper and May Lawrence Cooper. She moved with her family to Charleston in 1932, where her father became pastor of First Baptist Church.

Longtime friend Terry A. Parker of Charleston, who also serves as coroner in Mississippi County, said Hearnes was always “ready to go to bat for the underdog.”

“There wasn’t anything she was afraid to tackle or fix for the better,” Parker said. “It doesn’t matter if it were personal problems, issues in the church, issues in the state — she was very selfless. I witnessed that a lot here in our local community when we’d be struggling economically — or families were struggling or down on their luck.”

Betty Hearnes, former Missouri First Lady and recipient of the 2011 Zonta Celebration Award, speaks during the Zonta Women of Achievement Luncheon on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, at Ray's Plaza Conference Center in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

Betty Hearnes was constantly educating herself about needs and what she could do to help fix a problem, Parker said.

“If she didn’t feel it was morally right or ethical, she didn’t want a part of it. It always came back to her faith and church. The church was the base of her life, always,” he said.

Parker said Hearnes sang with “her beautiful, soprano voice” at countless weddings and funerals. She was also an organist and pianist.

In 1966, she won an honorary “Woman of the Year” award from the Business and Professional Women’s Club in Charleston.

According to a newspaper article published in 1968, Betty Hearnes spoke at a gathering of the Young Democrats of State College in Cape Girardeau. The article referenced she had worked 18 years within the organization. She spoke of teaching in Charleston before she got into politics. In 1968, she sang the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. A year later, Warren Hearnes announced plans to appoint his wife to a task force on hunger in Missouri.

In 1973, the Democrat was the first woman to be appointed to the Missouri Baptist Convention, named along with “Mrs. George Hammond” of Festus, Missouri, according to newspaper archives.

In 1981, Betty Hearnes was appointed to a Select Committee on Preservation of Agricultural Land for the state of Missouri.

In 1992, Peter Kinder defeated her in a battle for the state 27th District Senate seat.

Betty Hearnes was instrumental in establishing the Missouri Arts Council. She was honored along with her husband in 1995 by winning the DeVerne Lee Calloway Award. Betty Hearnes was a “driving force” in establishing the council and securing financial support from the legislature.

Betty Hearnes was nominated to many government boards and commissions, both statewide and locally. A music scholarship was established in her name through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

A private entombment for family will be at the Hearnes Mausoleum in the IOOF Cemetery at Charleston under the direction of McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston. Plans are being finalized for musical celebration of Hearnes’ life at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, plants and gift items, the family kindly requests memorials be made to: Autism Speaks, P.O. Box 37148, Boone, IA 50037-0148 or online at www.autismspeaks.org; or Friends of the Missouri Governors Mansion, 716 E. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders and Sikeston Standard Democrat news editor Leonna Heuring contributed to this report.

Editor's note: This story has been edited to remove incorrect information about Hearnes' relatives.