Margaret W. Hetzer

The couple dated for three or four years before their April 1969 wedding, when he was 37 and she was 26.

Bill said they were married by Ben Jones, an ordained minister, on a very rainy day, with a few close friends present.

They had planned to marry long before they did, in Vermont where they both liked to ski. Out-of-state paperwork put a damper on those plans, so they waited and got married here.

Lieba said Bill had honed his cooking skills during his years as a bachelor, so he did the cooking.

“Maggie couldn’t boil water,” Bill said with a laugh. 

Bill worked for his father’s company, C. William Hetzer Inc., a local contractor. He became president of the company after his father’s death in 1972.

In 1973, Maggie went into real estate, working in that field until 2008 and eventually opening her own office.

The Hetzers, who did not have children, settled into the home Bill had built on a 60-acre property along Little Antietam Creek near Leitersburg. The property has been left mostly wild and affords sweeping views of the creek, natural trees and wildlife.

They also had a home on the Wye River, where their first boat was named Miss Maggie and the second boat was named My Blue Heaven, with Bill adding Miss Maggie II to the name.

The couple spent many hours watching nature from the sun porch of their primary residence, which also served as a winter retreat for “Holly the Hummingbird,” whose delayed fall departure threw Maggie into action.

She had Bill build a cage to safely move Holly inside, where the bird was allowed to fly around the sun porch until spring. Maggie did an Internet search to find out how to care for hummingbirds.

That winter, Holly had to share her space with Kit Kat, a stray cat Maggie found under the porch.

After he scratched and bit Maggie, she had to have a series of rabies shots and the cat was to be quarantined. He is now one fat, happy cat who lives with another cat and two dogs.

The Hetzers are community-minded and many local organizations benefited from their commitment. Hagerstown Community College was especially important to Maggie because she realized that many local students didn’t have the financial means or desire to go away to a four-year college, but sought more education after high school.

They were honored for their commitment at the 10th annual Tribute at HCC in 2009.

“Bill won’t tell you, but there are numerous endowed scholarships in their name. We ran out of names to call them. She was for sure the best advocate of Hagerstown Junior College and Hagerstown Community College,” said Lieba, who recently retired as director for institutional advancement of HCC.

Carolyn went to South Hagerstown High School and Maggie to Williamsport High School, where she was a cheerleader. They met through school activities and at the public library where Maggie worked.

She was happy when Maggie joined the HCC Board of Trustees, of which Carolyn was a member, providing the opportunity for them to reconnect.

“She was one of my bosses as president of the foundation,” Lieba said. “She had wonderful leadership abilities.”

Bill said he and Maggie were private people and didn’t seek the limelight. She also didn’t reveal her age easily.