Heide Bents

West Brookfield - It is with great sadness that we announce Heide (Hartnagel) Bents, 82, passed away at her home on April 22, 2025, in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. She was born to Emilie and Friedrich Hartnagel on February 19, 1943, in Pirmasens, Germany. Heide is survived by her husband Bob, daughter Cheryl Bents-Hill, granddaughter Erika Hill, and son-in-law Scott Hill. She was preceded in death by her brother Hatto, and her uncle Helmut, who was like a big brother to her.

Heide attended school in Pirmasens. After finishing the primarily girls “modern languages high school” where she learned English and French, she wanted to continue her education by attending the “science high school”, which up until then was only for boys. The year she and four other girls attended the boys’ high school, was the first-year ladies were enrolled.

In 1961, Heide worked as a secretary for the US Army at Pirmasens. In January 1962, she began working as a secretary for the US Air Force in the Personnel Office on Sembach Air Force Base, Germany. This is when she met her husband Bob, who was in the US Air Force. They knew their love for each other after their first date in May and were married on December 8, 1962.

When Cheryl was born in 1964, Heide became a stay-at-home Mom. In 1970 she went to the Benedict School of Languages and was certified as a business translator for German and English. She worked part-time as a librarian assistant in 1973-75 at Rhein Main Air Force Base, Germany. In 1979, she started working again at Sembach Air Force Base, Germany, with one year as a communications clerk for the Defense Command Communications Office. From 1980–1995, Heide worked as a Technical Translator / Interpreter (German / English) for the Engineering and Environmental Branch. During this time, she earned numerous sustained superior performance awards.

Heide also introduced Cheryl to Scott, who at the time worked in the same office as Heide, and shortly thereafter she became a mother-in-law. When part of Sembach Air Base closed, and Heide stopped working, it was perfect timing because her granddaughter Erika had recently been born, and Heide wanted to spend more time with family.

With Bob being in the Air Force, they lived in New York, Connecticut, Ohio, South Dakota, and a few different places in Germany. The last 47 years, they lived in Sembach, Germany – where their lives together had begun. They traveled to a variety of places over the years – primarily throughout Europe and the United States, but also to Israel and Egypt.

Starting in 2000, in order to be closer to Cheryl, Erika, and Scott, Heide and Bob spent the summers in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, and moved there in 2024.

Heide had a thirst for learning her entire life. She was an avid reader and it ranged from understanding more about world events to reading poetry. She enjoyed music and art, learned ballet as a teenager, and loved to dance. According to Bob, her dance problem was that he was a “klutz” when it came to dancing. In her later years, she especially enjoyed watching German music shows and videos.

Heide was compassionate and cared deeply how people and animals were treated. She wrote letters to newspapers and politicians when she felt there was an injustice or something should be changed. For decades, she fed stray cats on the base where she worked. She and Bob found homes for the kittens and trapped the feral cats and had them spayed / neutered before releasing them again.

Heide always thought of the other person first and her love and thoughtfulness will be missed by all. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law.

At her request, funeral services will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Second Chance Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 136, East Brookfield, MA 01515 or online at secondchanceanimals.org, or to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org, or to CARE at care.org.