Carmel Fant Hiemstra, a resident of Peachtree City, Ga. since 1986, died peacefully at her home at Arbor Terrace on Tuesday, April 19, with family members by her side.
She lived at Arbor Terrace from May 2011 until her death. Before moving to Arbor Terrace, she lived on Jennings Yard in Peachtree City. Carmel was born in Anniston, Ala., the daughter of Charlie and Mollie Fant. She married James Warren Dupree in 1947. After his death in a tragic accident in November 1950, she met Clifford Hiemstra, and they married in March 1952. Cliff then served for 18 months in Korea, after which the family moved to many places with the military – Augusta, Ga.; Frankfurt, Germany; Columbia, S.SC; and, in December 1962, Atlanta, Ga., where Cliff served as Provost Marshal of Fort McPherson and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. After Cliff’s retirement they lived in southwest Atlanta for 20 years.
Carmel was always proud of being an Army wife, and she participated in many ways in the communities to which she moved. She created gracious and warm homes for her family in each of the places they lived. She was devoted to her husband and children, and she actively was involved in their lives, including serving as a room parent, girl scout leader, boy scout den mother, and Grey Lady volunteer at Fort McPherson hospital. Having not had the opportunity to go to college herself, she also had high expectations for her three children, making clear that they were expected to do well in school and go on to college.
She loved to entertain – whether hosting major holiday parties or small backyard barbecues, and she was a wonderful cook whose food was always in demand. After Cliff retired from the military, he worked for a time for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Carmel traveled with him to many disaster sites throughout the U.S. When Carmel decided to move from her Jennings Yard home, she chose to stay in Peachtree City and selected Towne Club/ Arbor Terrace as her new residence. There she made many new friends (while keeping in close touch with her former neighbors), read avidly, knitted, and took classes on using an i-pad and Facebook so she could keep in touch with family across the country. She also closely followed current events, including the current presidential election process.
Carmel was a strong woman who valued her independence, loved a new challenge, and thought it was important to do your best. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her but will be remembered for her character and kindness, and for a favorite saying, “Can’t never did anything.”
Carmel was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved brother Charles Fant, her husband of 50 years Cliff Hiemstra, and her grandson Tom Anstrom.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Sherry Hiemstra and Decker Anstrom of Washington, DC; Kay Hiemstra Singer and Dr. Phil Singer of Hillsborough, N.C.; and Colonel (Ret.) Michael Hiemstra and his wife Barbara Hiemstra. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Dr. Lauren Singer Cohee (Brian), Graham Singer, and Mariel Hiemstra, and two great-grandchildren, Oliver and Elliot Cohee, as well as sisters-in-law Reba Fant Kendrick and Darlene Hiemstra Strasser, brother-in-law and sister-in- law Roland and Pat Hiemstra, and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Carmel’s Peachtree City friends and doctors and the staff and residents of Towne Club/ Arbor Terrace for their care, kindnesses to, and friendship with Carmel over the years, as well as the staff of Home Instead of Fayetteville. Thanks also to Mr. Bee Huddleston of Mowell Funeral Home for his compassionate assistance to the family.
A visitation will be held at Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home, 200 Robinson Road, Peachtree City, at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 2, with a graveside service at Westminster Memorial Gardens, 2090 GA-54, Peachtree City, at 12 noon. A celebration of Carmel’s life will be held at Arbor Terrace, 201 Crosstown Drive, Peachtree City, at 2 p.m. that afternoon.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Carmel’s memory be made to the Home Instead Fayette County’s BASTAS program to assist seniors in need (Be a Santa to a Senior) c/o Home Instead, PO Box 866, Fayetteville, Ga., or to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, AHA Greater Southeast Affiliate, PO Box 840692, Dallas, Texas 75284-0692.
Carl J Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City-www.mowellfuneralhome.com
