HEYING, Hilarius "Larry" 1914-2001

BODENSTEINER, HEYING, LANGRECK, WHALING, SLACK, GEISING, REICKS, ELSBERND, MOLLERS, BUCHHEIT, BOHR

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 10/10/2010 at 18:41:10

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2001

Hilarius "Larry" Heying

Hilarius Heying, 86, of West Union, died Jan. 25, 2001 at Good Samaritan Home in West Union after a long illness.

Funeral services were held Monday, Jan. 29 at Holy Name Catholic Church in West Union.

Burial was in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in West Union, with Burnham-Wood Funeral Home handling arrangements.

Hilarius "Larry" Heying was born August 19, 1914, to John and Elizabeth (Bodensteiner) Heying near OSSIAN. He was the youngest of 14 children.

He graduated from Columbia Academy in Dubuque, and on Jan. 6, 1937, married Josephine Langreck of St. Lucas. They had four children.

They started farming and working with chicks in 1940, and at the same time, H.B. Wallace was developing a new breed of chicken, the Hy-Line chick, and the Heying' s became aligned with Hy Line Poultry Farms of Des Moines, eventually purchasing the Hy Line franchise. After hatching and selling chicks for many years the business grew into a pullet growing, egg laying, and shell egg operation, with grain farming and hogs added to the operation. The business became completely integrated with the motto "From the Cradle to the Table," pioneering in cooked egg products, methane gas and portable pullet growing system.

In 1964 Larry Heying was the first Democrat from Fayette County to be elected to the Iowa State Senate for the 8th District. He served two terms, 1964-1968 and 1972-1976. During his legislative terms he spearheaded the Volga Lake project in Northeast Iowa, and was instrumental in starting the vocational technical schools and maintaining the Right to Work Law.

He was a member of Holy Name Catholic Church, where he served as trustee for 25 years under Father Cooney, Father Ryan and Father Wierner. Larry Heying was a charter member of the West Union Ambassadors and a founding member of the Iowans for Tax Relief, where he held the position of vice president. He belonged to Rotary International, Knights of Columbus St. Thomas Moore Council and was a 4th Degree Knight.

Larry Heying received many honors. In 1972 he was voted Citizen of the Year. He received numerous distinguished service awards from Hy-Line International, the Lifetime Service Award from the Iowa Poultry Association, and received the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award from the Iowa Farm Bureau in 1993.

Although Larry Heying suffered from Parkinson's disease the last years of his life, he maintained active roles in business, community, and church.

Surviving Larry Heying are his wife, Josephine Heying; his children, Terrace Jon and Sherrie Heying of Eillmar, Minn.; Sondra Kay and Robert Whaling of Burr Ridge, Illinois; Charles Hilarius and Lois Heying of Portland, Ore.; and
Therese Jo and Robert Slack, of West Union.

Additional survivors include nine grandchildren: Angela and Dan Outline of Zimmerman; Minn.; Justin and Erika Heying of Willmar, Minn.; Karen and Peter Krummings of Crystal Lake, Illinois; Brenda Whaley of Burr Ridge,
Illinois; Sarah Whaley of Iowa City; Corrina and Nathan Halstead of Minneapolis; Kristin Heying of Portland, Ore.; Ben Heying of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Robert Slack III of West Union; and four great-grandchildren: Emma Halestad of Minneapolis; Sophia Heying-Sullivan of Portland, Ore.; and Shelby and Kyla Heying of Wilmar, Minn.

Hilarius "Larry" Heying was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, John, Henry, Bernard, Peter, Joseph, and Aloysius, and his sisters, Elizabeth Geising, Mary Reicks, Ida Elsbernd, Maggie Mollers, Frieda Buchheit, Hildagarde Bohr, and Anna Bohr.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.