Arlette "Letty" Hernes

Arlette "Letty" Hernes passed away peacefully in her sleep at 3:10 AM October 4th, 2024, after a long, courageous battle with a very nasty, very rare form of cancer. Letty is survived by her loving husband George Niemond, her cat Gelou, her sister and brother-in-law Florine and James McClain, and many relatives and friends.

Letty was born November 23rd, 1946, to Morris and Lillian (Linder) Hernes in Da Bronx, New York. Growing up she enjoyed bicycling around her Bronx neighborhood, taking trips to the city (Manhattan) to shop, sightsee, and go to concerts. She was a New York Yankees fan and was happy to have seen such greats as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris play at Yankee Stadium. Her family took summer trips to Ogunquit, a quaint artists’ colony in Maine. Letty loved Maine and continued to visit Ogunquit almost yearly, until very recently when health problems limited our ability to travel. She especially enjoyed walking along the Marginal Way, a 1.25-mile cliff path overlooking the ocean.

After high school she attended college at Albany State University where she spent a semester in France, which cemented her love for the country and the language. After college she taught for several years but decided that was not for her, so she returned to school at Brooklyn Law, and after graduating and passing the bar exam spent many happy years (with a brief stint as Town Manager of a small community in the New York Hudson Valley) as a prosecutor and administrator, first in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and then in the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office.

After retiring she and her husband George traveled and explored places to settle down in a sunnier climate. After considering many places they decided to move to The Villages. There, they enjoyed mornings relaxing on their lanai having coffee, reading newspapers, doing crossword puzzles, and watching the birds and animals around the pond behind their home. In the Villages, Letty was able to continue to enjoy walking and exercising, taking many long jaunts around her Hillsborough neighborhood and working out in the gym and at home with personal trainers. She also continued to fight the bad guys as a senior sleuth at Seniors versus Crime. And she greatly enjoyed the Conversational French Club where she delighted in regaling the members with a yearly original story of love lost and love found with music in French enhancing the tale.

Letty was loved by many, will be missed by many, and will live forever in the hearts of many.

A Celebration of Life for Letty will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 3:00PM at Dignity Memorial Life Celebration Center, 7134 Powell Road Wildwood.

Please, no flowers. The cat eats them and gets sick. If you do want to do something to remember Letty, three of her many favorite charities are Sumter County Humane Society, Tunnel to Towers, and Doctors Without Borders.