SPRING DALE— Heather Elaine Grosze,

a much-beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Feb. 6, 2023, in Springdale, Ark., at the age of 50.

Heather is survived by her husband of almost 18 years, Scott; her two beautiful boys, Andrew and Garrett; her parents, Donna & Ervan Hunt of Booneville, Ark.; four brothers, Robert (Linda) Abbott of Booneville, Ark., Allen ( Deann) Abbott of Plano, Tex., Nick (Farrah) Abbott of Cleveland, Tex., & Bobby (Tina) Hunt of Booneville, Ark.; two sisters, Tina (James) Stewart of Bella Vista, Ark., and Whitney (Brandon) Lewis of Alaska; Godparent Elaine Roberts of Booneville, Ark.; and 25 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father, Ernest Abbott; her maternal grandmother, Leona Miller; and grandparents Herbert and Ellene Hunt.

Heather was born in Booneville, Ark., on April 24, 1972, to Donna Hunt and Ernest Abbott. She was a proud alumnus and cheerleader at Booneville High School. She then attended and graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She married her best friend, Scott, in May 2005. She later earned a Masters of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship from the University of Delaware. She proudly attained her National Board Certification for Teaching in 2008 while also carrying and delivering her twin boys, Andrew and Garrett.

For twenty- five years, Heather proudly served as a secondary Career and Technical Education teacher in the Arkansas Public School System. She started as an Adult Education teacher at Arkansas Valley Vocational Technical Institute in Ozark, Ark. She then served as a business teacher and cheer sponsor at Ozark High School where she developed an FBLA program for students to compete and grow their business/computer skills.

Heather moved to the Rogers Public School District in 2000 and split her time teaching at Elmwood Junior High and Rogers High School before moving to the RHS-10 Sophomore Campus in 2001. Heather was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2006 for her implementation and leadership of the Career Academy Curriculum Model. An inspiring business education teacher, Heather was part of the inaugural staff at Rogers Heritage High School when it opened in 2008 to provide a second high school for the Rogers community. She passionately assumed leadership roles to establish a tradition of excellence at Heritage.

While earning the distinction of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher, she also served as the HHS Career and Technical Education Department Chair, Business Academy Lead, and FBLA Sponsor for many years. Heather’s popular FBLA Club was the largest club on campus, and her students won numerous awards at regional and state competitions. Many of her FBLA students earned spots to present at the National Competition, winning awards there and even advancing to the World Competition. Heather was a constant advocate for her fellow educators as she frequently mentored business education interns, annually presented to colleagues around the country at summer conferences, and thoughtfully offered her life advice and encouragement to both faculty members and students. In 2012, Heather was awarded the Bessie B. Moore Award for Excellence in Teaching Economics, recognizing Arkansas teachers for developing outstanding economic projects integrated into the classroom. Heather’s project was titled, “Social Entrepreneurship: The Bottom Line is Lives.” She frequently hosted entrepreneurship fairs on campus for her students to exhibit their products and sell them to the staff and student body on campus. Heather served on the Board for Economics Arkansas from 2015 to 2017. While her love of teaching was tremendous, her love for her family was even greater. When she married Scott they both said they weren’t lucky to find each other, they were blessed. Carving out a life of love and laughter, she and Scott took many trips together, but Heather’s secret sauce to life was the day-today living together. She never let a day go by without letting Scott know how much she loved him. Whether it was as simple as making dinner or more complicated tasks of re-painting their entire house, Heather and Scott did it together.

Their greatest accomplishment was creating and raising their twin sons, Andrew and Garrett, and guiding them to be outstanding young men. Heather doted on her sons, providing them a solid upbringing and creating in them a love of learning, a curious spirit, and a zest for life that she lived to the fullest each day. She loved being their mom and spent countless hours with them at school and church events. She was a fixture at area ballparks as both boys loved the game of baseball. Her presence was known as she always had encouraging and uplifting words for Andrew and Garrett on the diamond. She got them through the rough times and celebrated their successes.

While she has slipped the surly bonds of earth, Heather remains an integral part of the lives of everyone she has touched. Whether you were her family, friend, student or someone who came into contact with her, she was in the moment with you, giving you her full attention and providing life lessons. She will be sorely missed.

A Celebration of Life Service is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18th at 11 a.m. at Christian Life Cathedral in Fayetteville, 1285 Millsap Rd.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made via check to Wells Fargo FBO the Andrew & Garrett Grosze College Fund.