Delores Heim

Long-time Anchorage resident Delores “Dee” Heim, 88, died on December 9, 2009 at Mat-Su Regional Hospital in Palmer, Alaska of pneumonia. Dee was born on October 21, 1921 in Norwalk, Ohio, the seventh child of Alger and Iva Fry. She grew up on a farm, graduated from Monroeville High School in 1939 and attended Capital University (Ohio). She joined the Navy in 1943 as a WAVE, serving as a LINK Trainer Instructor in Corpus Christi, Texas and Honolulu, Terr. Of Hawaii. She moved to Topeka, Kansas in 1947, where she worked for the U.S. Army as a LINK Trainer Instructor and as a comptometer operator for the Santa Fe Railroad. She met Thomas Heim and they married in 1949. She earned a Bachelors Degree at Washburn University (Kansas) and a Masters Degree at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks (Alaska). She was an elementary school teacher in Holton, Kansas from 1957 - 1961. In 1961 she moved to Anchorage, Alaska with her daughter, teaching in several elementary schools, retiring in 1978. She was an active member of Holy Family Catholic Church, Prospector’s Society and CARTA. She volunteered at the Bishop’s Attic, Anchorage Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and the Anchorage Museum. Her hobbies included gardening, golfing, needlework, traveling, and cross country skiing. She is survived by her grandson Thomas McCain and granddaughter Jennifer Luce (Kevin) of Wasilla; nieces & nephews in Ohio & Kansas; and friends in many states. She was preceded in death by her parents, her four brothers & two sisters, her husband in 1955 & her daughter, Diane in November 2009. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in St. Marys, Kansas. Interment with Military Honors will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery; St. Marys. Friday, April 23, 2010 there will be a Rosary/Prayer Vigil at 7:00 P.M. at Piper Funeral Home. Memorial contributions can be made to Catholic Social Services, 225 Cordova Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501. Arrangements made by Alaskan Heritage Memorial Chapel & Crematory in Wasilla, Alaska & Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys, Kansas.

Delores Heim

October 21, 1921 - April 24, 2010