Longtime Bandera resident and business owner Lady Weldon “Bungy” Hedley Grant Ellington Hartshorn Eberhardt passed away peacefully on June 25, 2024, at the LaGrange home of her daughter and son-in-law, Ballan and Dan Keen. Bungy would have been 90 in November and will be fondly remembered by all in Bandera for her outgoing zest for life and love for the “Cowboy Capital of the World!”
Born to mother George Malcolm Reed and Father Eli Weldon Hedley in Seminole, Oklahoma, on November 11, 1934, Bungy was the third of four spunky “Hedley Girls.” When the family moved to “The Cove” in San Pedro, California, in 1937, Bungy’s love of the sea and sailing began. This abiding love stayed with her through all adventures (and many moves) during her long life—including Tahiti, Fiji, Maui, Puerto Rico, Florida, Connecticut, the Mojave desert…and finally to the beautiful Hill Country of Texas.
Bungy moved to Bandera with her husband Edward “Ted” Grant and their four children in 1975, to manage the Lost Valley Resort. They subsequently owned a favorite tourist stop, the Bandera General Store, managed the Flying L Golf Resort, and owned The Little River Ranch cabins (by the Medina River park), which was largely destroyed in the 1978 flood. Ever the entrepreneur, Bungy and her daughter Ballan established a new smaller tourist favorite, the General Store on Main Street, which she ran for over 20 years. Bungy actively welcomed any and all to Bandera. She was always first to ride in a parade, help in painting a hall, and was a founding member of Bandera’s Child Advocacy Board… and for fun threw herself into country western dancing and tubing the Medina. Bungy was always ready with a “yee haw” or a Spanish folk tune.
Bungy was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved son Weldon Davies Grant, sisters Flo Ann Norvell and Marilyn Gozzano, and husbands Ted Grant, Aubrey “Duke” Ellington, Larry Hartshorn and Roland Eberhardt.
Sur v ivors include daughters Ballan Elizabeth KeKaihoku (Dan) Keen and Hedley “Dede” (Dale) Pelletier of Oak Ridge, TN; son Seaward Burr (Lisa) Grant of Santa Barbara, CA, and bonus son Larry “Tuck” (Linda) Hartshorn, of Felton, CA. Her grandchildren: Sara Pelletier, Andrew Pelletier and Kyla (Charlie) Petch, Dan (Laura) Keen, Jr., Rusty (Natalie) Keen, and Terri (Brion) Ideker. Great grands: Averi Keen, Tanner Keen, Alley Keen, Lauren Jones, Jacob Keen, Grace Keen, Logan Ideker and Colby Ideker. And many loved nieces and nephews and their families. Bungy’s sister Charlotte “Ba” Hedley remains the beloved matron of the “Hedley Girls.”
A Celebration of Life will be held August 27 at The Cove (White Point) in San Pedro, which is now part of the California State Park system—all are welcome. The family requests in lieu of flowers that donations go to Hill Country CASA https://hccasa.org
