Janet Hey, the founder of Southwest Tours and Travel, is being remembered as a strong advocate for the tourism industry. During her career, she was appointed to the Minnesota Department of Tourism.
Hey, 84, of Spicer, Minnesota, died March 26, 2023, at Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West, Arizona, from interstitial lung disease.
Hey took a detour into the transportation and tourism sector in 1974 when she and her husband, Marvin Hey, moved to Marshall, Minnesota. There, she went to work for Southwest Coaches.
Developed tour business
The next year, she started the Southwest Tours and Travel branch of the company.
“She was extremely proud of how she developed and grew the tour portion of the business,” according to her obituary.
She and her husband purchased the company in 1988 and added Wells Bus Service of Jackson, Minnesota, in 1991. In 2000, they sold the business to their sons and moved to their home on Lake Florida, near Spicer.
Association member
Hey was also a member of the Minnesota School Bus Operators Association, National School Transportation Association and National Tour Association, where she was part of the first group to achieve the Certified Tour Professional designation.
“She was a strong advocate for the tourism industry and was appointed to the Minnesota Department of Tourism. She and Marv enjoyed attending industry conventions and traveling, and spent the past several winters in Hawaii and Arizona,” noted her obituary.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 65 years, Marvin; her four children, Laurie (Tim) Auch, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.; Jayne (Paul) Anderson, of Minnetonka, Minnesota; Thomas (Jennifer) Hey, of Marshall, Minnesota; and James (Deb) Hey, also of Marshall; eight grandchildren, Emily (Kiel) Ford, Katie Auch, Ashley (Robby) Wolfgang, Sami Hey, Sydney Hey, Jasmine (Tabor) Martin, James Hey and Jonathan (Michaela) Hey; five great-grandchildren, Lennon Ford, Dexter Wolfgang, and Croix, Titus and Stratton Martin; and a brother-in-law, Chuck (Marjory) Hey.
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