Gregory Wayne Hetrick of Walsh, Colorado went to be with the Lord on May 7, 2018.  He was born in Elkhart, Kansas to Keith Ray Hetrick and Alice Mildred Medley Hetrick on January 11, 1961.  He was the sixth of seven siblings. Greg attended school in Walsh, Colorado to the 9 ^th grade. He then started to work and had various jobs working for local farmers (Dean Sides) and Cook Oil Company. He worked with his brother Rodney in the well service and helped Douglas to start Hetrick's Ag and Auto. His heart was always with farming and ranching.

In May of 1982, he was introduced to Tammy Ann Swafford.   In 1984, Greg proposed to Tammy at the Lea County Fair.  It was a wonderfully nostalgic plan to elope to Raton, NM, just like Tammy's parents did several years before.  However, Greg's brother, Douglas, and Tammy's cousin, Rita, were too afraid of Rita's Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Walt." Although Rita was willing, Douglas' response was "Hell No, if you want to go to Raton then have your parents take you."  Well, Greg sat down with Walt to ask for Tammy's hand in marriage.  The answer, "NO, absolutely not!" Well, as you can tell this did not deter Greg, as they were married on December 27, 1984. Greg and Tammy began their lives together in Stonington then later moved to Walsh.  While in Walsh, two daughters were born to this union, Alex Nicole on April 17, 1992 and Andrean Rene on August 21, 1994.  Greg's farming dreams were soon realized when they moved to the family farm in October of 1997.

Greg had many health challenges throughout his life.  "Let's just say a fun accident waiting to happen." His first challenge was when he wore a body cast for six months due to a farming accident where he tore ligaments in his back.  In 1990, he was diagnosed with stage 3, Hodgkin's disease.  He fought a long hard battle with chemotherapy and conquered each challenge and has been in remission since.  In 2002, Greg had another farming accident and slowly smashed half of his left index finger off.  On August 21 ^st , 2004, he was the first noted case of West Nile in Southeast Colorado, and one of the first to survive. He had many side effects from West Nile, including seizures.  Next came heat strokes, which limited his ability to work in the heat.  It didn't matter what health challenges he faced, he never seemed to slow down much at all.  No matter how he felt, he always had such a positive attitude and that grin on his face, even if there were colorful words at times.

Greg loved being a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend.  He was always willing to lend a helping hand to his neighbors and friends, whether it was moving cattle or working the ground.  Growing up Greg and his siblings wrestled, fought and played hard.  Greg like to party during his teen years.  One time his Dad woke him early in the morning to tell him, "If you don't want to get in trouble, you may want to go get the neighbors fence off your car."  Greg may have seemed rough on the edges, but was a romantic at heart and loved surprising Tammy on special occasions.  Of course, being the only male in the home, he would do just about anything to please his girls.  Even if it meant coaching the girls Peewee Basketball team.  Late Saturday night on the way home with a pickup load full of girls from a weekend tournament, Greg decided to prank the girls, as it was April Fool's day.  All the kids fell asleep in the pickup, he pulled up in front of a sign in the ditch on the side of the road and screamed to wake everyone up.  Needless to say, there was plenty of chatter to keep him awake the rest of the way home.  Greg supported every interest in which his girls were involved.  The best part of his life came these last few years when he became a "Papa".  He spent many hours in the field with his grandkids in tow.  He loved his grandkids so very much…a long, long time – all the way to the moon and back.

Greg is survived by his wife, Tammy of 33 years; daughters, Alex &Tanner Meltabarger of Amarillo, Texas, Andi Hetrick  and Justiin Bishop of Amarillo, Texas, Grandchildren; Trinytee Ann and Thatcher Lee Meltabarger and Gabriel Joseph Ortivez.  Brothers and Sisters:  Dennis and Cathy Hetrick of Brookings S.D., Janette and Gary Jones of Cheraw, Colorado, Rodney and Cindy Hetrick of Springfield, Colorado, Douglas and Rita Hetrick of Walsh, Colorado, Deena and Ken Tilley of Johnson, Kansas. And many nieces, nephews and cousins.  He was preceded in death by His mother and father, Alice Mildred and Keith Ray Hetrick and a sister Deborah Yvonne Hetrick.

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." — Winnie-the-Pooh