Constance Healer

Connie Healer, 77, passed away on Friday, June 16, 2023 in Arlington, Texas.

Visitation: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, June 29, 2023 at the Wade Family Funeral Home.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday, July 1, 2023 at Wade Family Funeral Home Chapel, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Graveside Service: 1 p.m. Saturday, July 1, 2023 at Moore Memorial Gardens, Arlington.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, which Connie would have loved but which her daughter will likely kill, please plant something in her memory or make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association, at alz.org.

Connie was born on October 17, 1945 in Sedalia, Missouri, to Don Walter Lee and Frances Elayne Lawler Lee. With her father in the Air Force, Connie traveled extensively, spending her childhood in the Azores, Panama, Maine, Austin, and Abilene. Shortly after she graduated from UT Arlington, Connie married her husband, Charlie Healer, who was a first lieutenant in the Army. She worked tirelessly as an English teacher and school librarian, and she was passionate about making the library a welcoming space for both students and co-workers. She was particularly adept at writing poetry for special events or birthdays and is remembered by her friends as someone who was cordial but determined, always happy to help, and eager to put others first.

Family was also very important to her, and she made sure her daughter, Shana, and son, Lee, were exposed to a wide variety of experiences, including scouts, where Connie served as a troop leader; dance; art; soccer; and band, where she was a proud booster. As part of the Arlington High School Band Boosters, and as someone who had enjoyed international experiences herself, Connie and her husband Charlie helped spearhead efforts for the Colt band to visit Germany in 1989, and then saw that their children each took a tour of Europe in the years that followed. Stateside family trips were special to Connie as well; she was an archivist who enjoyed meticulously journaling about the different places she traveled.

Connie enjoyed baking for her family and loved making sour cream pound cakes, banana pudding, and sourdough bread. She also was a staunch believer in family traditions, including Sunday lunches with her parents, which were usually followed by a leisurely afternoon playing dominoes, reading the paper, taking a nap, or working on Bible studies with her mother. She liked to garden and take care of her plants though she was also an avid collector of artificial flowers. Connie loved to play Canasta with family and friends, and when she wasn’t busy with these things, she was perfectly content to spend an entire afternoon in a grocery store, slowly perusing every aisle and selecting new items to try.

Connie was a longtime, active member of Trinity United Methodist Church and a member of the Rejabian Book Club and Women’s Club in Arlington.

Connie was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Leo Healer, and son, Thomas Lee Healer.