VERNON HEILIG obituary

TURNER - Vernon V. Heilig, 94, died Thursday, March 18, 2004, at a Havre care center due to natural causes.

A funeral service was scheduled for 2 p.m. today in the Turner Christian Church with burial following in the Turner Cemetery.

Vernon was born on June 7, 1909, to Jesse and Amy (Viele) Heilig in Tecumseh, Neb. He was a football player, threw the disc and was class president of his graduat-

ing class in Boise, Idaho, in 1929. Vernon worked as a mechanic at Buick Motors and the Coca Cola plant in Boise until the fall of 1932.

He married Montana MacDonald on Aug. 23, 1931, in Boise, Idaho. They moved to the family farm in 1932 and Vernon took the last homestead claim in Blaine County in 1932-33. During the 1930s, he worked on WPA projects along the Canadian border. He continued farming and adding additional farms to his dad's original farm.

Vernon enjoyed walks around his farm and picking rocks from the fields. He like to read, listen to music, talk politics and was a fan of Monday Night Football. In 1947 he purchased a home in Turner for the winter months and for their children going to school. Vernon and his wife started spending winters in the south in 1977. They spent time in St. George, Utah, places in Arizona and enjoyed visiting relatives in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. They also did some winter housesitting for friends and family.

He was very pleased with his stay at Northern Montana Care Center the last six years and enjoyed his grandchildren and great-grandchildren's visits.

His wife Montana preceded him in death in 1996.

Survivors include his sons, Laverne Heilig of St. George, Utah, Kenneth (Phyllis) Heilig and Richard (Sharla) Heilig of Turner, Gary (Helen) Heilig of Moore, David (Jeannie) Heilig of Long Beach, Calif.; daughters, Tana (Tom) Truscott of Clarkston, Wash., Amy (Dan) Hutton of Turner, Laurie Blackmarr of Lake Stevens, Wash.; 17 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be sent to the Turner Christian Church.

Arrangements are by Edwards Funeral Home of Chinook.