Willard R. Heins

Willard R. Heins, 77, of Murphysboro, passed away at 2:55 a.m. Monday, March 22, 2010, at the Rehab and Care Center of Jackson County in Murphysboro, Illinois. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 26, 2010, at Pettett Funeral Home with Rev. Timothy A. Bean officiating and burial at Pleasant Grove Memorial Park, where military services will be conducted by the American Legion Post # 127, V.F.W. Post # 71960 and 2605 and the Jackson County D.A.V. Chapter # 69. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday until 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the First Lutheran Church in Murphysboro. Willard was born on October 30, 1932, in Gorham, Illinois, to Edward Heins and Hulda (Heitman) Heins. He served in the U.S. Army in the Construction Battalion in Alaska during the Korean Conflict. Mr. Heins was a farmer and he loved raising cattle, sheep and hogs. He raised Black Angus cows, when nobody knew what Angus cows were. He enjoyed driving his tractor on a nice sunny day to go make hay. He was an operating engineer and a member of the Operating Engineer's Local # 318, in Marion, Illinois. Mr. Heins was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Murphysboro, a member of the American Legion Post # 127, and a member of the Jackson County Farm Bureau. Willard married Mary Button on December 26, 1959, in Pinckneyville, Illinois, and she survives. Other survivors include three children and their spouses Linda Heins Stearns and her husband Randall Stearns of Murphysboro, Jane Heins Bauersachs and her husband Dwayne Bauersachs of Pinckneyville and Willard R. Heins, Jr. and his wife Nicole Heins of Murphysboro; four grandchildren Jennifer Bauersachs and Justin Bauersachs, both of Pinckneyville and Crissy Stearns and Rewn Stearns, both of Murphysboro; two sisters Eileen Hamilton and her husband Archie Hamilton of Ava, and Lucille Fuist of Arnold, MO; one sister in law Bernice Heins of Gorham; one brother in law Harold Arbeiter of Cape Girardeau, MO; and one niece and several nephews. He was preceded in death by two brothers Earl Heins and Milton Heins and two sisters Corrine Arbeiter and Bernice Heuermann, and his parents. The family of Willard Heins would like to thank the Rehab and Care Center of Jackson County for the care given to their husband, father and grandfather during his stay at the nursing home.

Willard R. Heins

October 30, 1932 - March 22, 2010