Kay A. Heggestad

MADISON- MINORITY REPORT OBITUARY: Kay Ann Heggestad, M.D. The above obituary was written by Dr. Heggestad herself, but her family agreed that she left out some critical points in her extraordinary life. We felt it was important to document these excluded essentials, so we provided an additional obituary. Kay Ann Heggestad was a wonderful wife, a superb mother, a one-of-a-kind, amazing family doctor, and, truly, a world changer. She was born on Sept. 18, 1944, and died on Jan. 13, 2017 (Friday the 13th). She was raised Roman Catholic and got a very good education in the Catholic school system. She used that education to help people by correcting their grammatical errors, even if no one asked her to. She later, as an adult, found that she could not tolerate a religion that treated women as second-class citizens and left the faith. She was the daughter of a Norwegian immigrant, John Heggestad, who came to America on his own at age 18 with $40 in his pocket. He learned the trade of carpentry and later went on to manage the Eagles club in Madison, Wis. He instilled in his daughter the idea that if he had been lucky enough to be born in America, he would have become a doctor. Kay took this to heart and became a family physician. But becoming a physician was no easy task. She fought sexism in order to get into medical school. Female applicants had to do more interviews than males and one professor had even said that all female students should have hysterectomies so that they didn't waste their time raising families. Needless to say, there is less sexism after Kay got finished with them. She was the first female student to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Family Practice Residency. She was the first female Family Practice doctor to deliver babies in Madison and she developed a large practice. She was a co-founder of Wildwood Family Clinic with her husband, Paul Wertsch, MD, and Daniel Barry, MD. They were soon after joined by Calvin Bruce, MD. She was a caring, indefatigable Family Doctor and she had a very large obstetrical practice. If she didn't know what was wrong with you, she would not rest until she found out. That's just the type of doctor she was: compassionate, curious, and knowledgeable. If Kay was your doc, you had nothing to worry about. As a patient, however, she was not always easy to get along with, unless, that is, you did what she told you to do. And since she was always right, it was better to do what she told you to do. In fact, her family bought her a T-shirt which said "I know what's best for everyone" and she wore it with pride. She constantly kept up with medical advances and even after she retired, she was the person to go to if you did not know something medically. Even while creating an astounding career, she found time to raise two wonderful kids, Johanna (Larry Kaltenberg) and Gregory (Mark Ferrandino) who later provided her with two wonderful grandchildren, Paulina and Lila. She used her ferocious determination to make the world a better place and to do it with humor. That is definitely a trait she has inspired in all of her surrounding family. She was a part in changing the world. When she found out that her son was gay, she educated herself and became an advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. She became active in their local PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and went on to serve on the National Board of PFLAG. She became a warrior, a true champion for the rights of GLBT people everywhere. Kay loved to make people laugh, so much so that she took improv classes to improve her skills. She always included jokes in any lectures that she gave and had her family, friends, and doctors constantly in hysterics, even during the rough times. She really had a gift for comedy. Her father taught her to play Euchre and Poker and she quickly became a formidable player. She hardly ever bluffed and, therefore, could bluff with impunity. Many people went home with less money than they brought to the Poker game because of Kay. She was very competitive throughout life, especially with her physician husband, Paul Wertsch, who was her classmate in medical school. In their competitions, she always scored just a little bit better than Paul in whatever they did. Competing to the end, her last words before dying were "Beat you, Paul." The words of love and respect we could give this woman would fill a library of books. She influenced every person she met in a different and remarkable way. She will be missed deeply. Please see the above obituary for details of the celebration of life for this remarkable person. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608)221-5420