Heffner, J. Willard 1915-1982

HEFFNER, ROYSTER, BARR, CAPERS

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 9/17/2009 at 07:37:46

Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; March 18, 1982

RITES FRIDAY FOR MR. HEFFNER

J. Willard Heffner, 66, of 1033 Elm St., Grinnell, died of leukemia Monday, March 15, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church, with the Rev. James P. Russell officiating. Music will be provided by Darwin VanWyk, Marvin Kelley and Deanna Acrea.

Fraternal rites will be conducted by F.W. Tomasek, Clark Watkins and members of the Hermon Masonic Lodge. Burial will be at Hazelwood Cemetery.

Memorials in Mr. Heffner's name may be made in the form of blood donations to the blood bank at Grinnell General Hospital.

Friends may call at the Smith Funeral Home until 10 a.m. Friday, and thereafter at the church.

The son of Carl and Pearl Royster Heffner, he was born Dec. 17, 1915, at Duncombe. He moved with his family to San Diego, Calif., and later returned to Webster City where he graduated from high school.

He attended Webster City Community College and later graduated from the University of Iowa. He worked as a social worker in Fort Dodge before being inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II. Following his discharge in 1946, he returned to the University of Iowa and received his law degree.

He was married to Kathleen Barr on Nov. 17, 1951, at the Trinity Lutheran Church near Malcom. The couple lived in Grinnell following their marriage.

Mr. Heffner was a senior claims adjustor for the AID Insurance Co. of Des Moines and was a member of the United Methodist Church, the Hermon Masonic Lodge and the Poweshiek County Bar Association.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; his children, Susan Heffner-Capers of Grinnell and Cynthia Heffner of Virginia Beach, Va.; his mother, Pearl Heffner of Gowrie; three grandchildren; and two brothers, Robert Heffner of Gowrie and Samuel Heffner of Badger. He was preceded in death by his father.