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July 6, 2011

Senior award winner fights Parkinson's

By LORAINE ANDERSON landerson@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Hettie Molvang, nurse and advocate for people with Parkinson's disease and their families, is this year's National Cherry Festival Distinguished Senior Citizen.

Molvang, who lost her husband, Eric, to chronic and progressive movement disorder four years ago, received her award Tuesday during the festival's annual senior breakfast. She was one of 10 nominees honored for community service and volunteer efforts.

She asked the 150 to 200 people who attended the breakfast at the Elks Club to remember veterans of the past and today who have or had Parkinson's.

"We must remember them and do something to help them," she said.

She is state coordinator for the Parkinson's Action Network, which lobbies in Washington, D.C., for coverage of U.S veterans and returning servicemen exposed to Agent Orange and other neurotoxins.

Molvang serves on the board of directors for the Grand Traverse Area Parkinson's Support Groups and works to support, educate, and research resources for individuals and families who navigate the disease's ever-changing path.

Born and educated in London, England, Molvang lost her grandmother in a Nazi bombing blitz during World War II. She married an American soldier, Maurice Kunkel, and came to the United States in 1947 and a few years later became a naturalized citizen. Her first husband is deceased.

She worked as a nurse at Cadillac Mercy Hospital until 1962, when she moved to Traverse City to teach advocacy theory and clinical nursing for Northwestern Michigan College. She was only the second woman to receive the NMC Imogene Wise award for Excellence in Teaching. She was the director of the honors program and head of the faculty council for several years.

She and Eric Molvang, "her great love and very best friend," were married for 40 years. A registered nurse with a master of arts and master of science degrees, Molvang has worked in Parkinson's informational booths at the senior expos in Traverse City and Leelanau and is involved with local long-term care facilities and home health care groups.

She teaches "Personal Action Toward Health," a course to assist people with chronic conditions to set goals to promote their individual health improvement, at the Traverse City Senior Center, Stanford University and Michigan State University.

She is a mother of six, a grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of six. She continues to be involved at Eastern Elementary School, where she reads to children.

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