Gregory Gene Hettmansberger

July 7, 1955 - December 1, 2020

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin - Gregory Gene Hettmansberger, 65, passed away Tuesday, December 1, 2020 in a car accident in Pratt, Kansas. He was born July 7, 1955 in Danville, Illinois to Harlan and Delores (Smith) Hettmansberger. Gregory married Cynthia (Larabell) Hettmansberger on April 21, 1996 in Simi Valley, CA. They were married for 24 years. Greg graduated from White Plains High School in White Plains, NY in 1973. He went on to attend college at SUNY-Potsdam where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education in 1977. He then obtained his graduate degree in Music Performance (Clarinet) from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1979. Greg was most passionate about Jesus, people, music and writing. He was a member of Sweet Orchard Church in McFarland, WI. He wore many hats in his professional life, but the common thread has always been his writing career. He most recently was working as a bus driver for Kobussen Buses, LTD. He also spent 12 years as a K-12 band director, first at Grace Brethren Christian School in Simi Valley, CA, and then at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, WI. He most notably has been a published author since 1988. His written works are mostly in the realm of classical music. He has been writing program notes for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for 24 years, and was also a contributor to Madison Magazine. Many of his musings live on at https://whatgregsays.wordpress.com/about/. His final work, a book yet to be published, is a biography on the American music director and conductor, John DeMain. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; stepdaughter, Emily Watson of Phoenix, Arizona; stepson, Timothy Watson of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; mother, Delores Baker of Marlton, New Jersey; Sister, Brenda Hettmansberger of Peekskill, New York; brother, Neil Baker of Mount Laurel, New Jersey; step-mother, Doris Hettmansberger of White Plains, New York; stepsister Laura Levenson of White Plains, New York; and stepbrother, Alan Levenson of Norman, Oklahoma. Gregory is preceded in death by his father, Harlan Gene Hettmansberger. Memorials can be made online to Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Musicians’ Relief Fund.