Albertine "Waggi" Halsted

Albertine "Waggi" Halsted passed away on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. She was born on May 27,1935 to Sebastian Kressierer and Albertine Keller Kressierer in Munich, Germany. She had two siblings, Terese and Alfred Kressierer. She married Benjamin Donald Halsted (USAF Major Retired) on March 3,1951 in Munich where Ben was stationed. They have three children Gisela Halsted Hughes, Deborah Diane Halsted (Robert Murray) and Stephen Gray Halsted (Sandra Goche). They have one grandson, Chad Rifle Hughes (Laura Hughes) and one great grandson, Jack Remington Hughes. Waggi is survived by all three adult children grandson and great-grandson, as well as numerous beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Halsted, in 2018.

Waggi spent her childhood in and around Munich, including very difficult years during World War II. Her life changed completely when she met and married Ben and relocated to the U.S. Married 67 years, Ben and Waggi lived in many places due to Ben's Air Force career including Germany, California, Alaska, Nebraska and Virginia, but upon Ben's retirement in 1989, they relocated to Fairway Oaks in Abilene, TX. They moved to Wesley Court in 2005, and in later years both were well cared for by Josephine Robinson.

While in Abilene, Waggi was active in the Dyess AFB Officer's Wives Club Bowling League and the Garden Gate Garden Club; and with Ben, the Fairway Oaks homeowner's association, Wylie school tax reform and MORA (Military Officers Retirement Association. She and Ben both loved traveling and spent much of their time traveling the back roads of Texas, but also driving family visiting from Germany around the U.S. They visited Germany often, and for their 50th anniversary took a trip to Australia, New Zealand, and other areas in the Pacific.

Waggi was a very talented artist, beginning with ceramics classes, and later moving to oil painting where she excelled. Her home is filled with her beautiful paintings, as well as mementos from all her travels of the US and abroad.

Graveside services will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene. Friends are invited to view and pay their respects on Saturday, July 15 and Monday, July 17 at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Rd.