William Martin Heeter

WILLIAM HEETER Our father, William (Bill) Heeter died, April 1st, 2018 at the age of 87. He was born on December 4th, 1930 in Klamath Falls Oregon, to Blanch LeBlanc Heeter and William Heeter Sr. The family moved to Butte Meadows in 1942 where his father managed the Bambi Inn, and then later they made their permanent home in Chico. He attended Notre Dame Catholic School then Chico High School, where he met and later married the love of his life, our mother, Ella Mae Cook. In 1951 the family moved to Willits, CA when dad took a job in one of the 17 lumber mills oper-ating there at the time. In 1961 our family moved back to Chico so dad could take over his father's business, Main Street Laundry. He later developed that business into Dustaway Garment and Towel, a linen supply company. He and mom successfully ran the company until 1986, when they retired. In their retirement years they enjoyed traveling and playing with their grandkids. During his life dad belonged to the Chico Elks Lodge, the North Valley Banjo Band, and the EAA. As a kid, he had an early fascination with airplanes. He was a pilot and at the age of 65, a group of pilot friends, all older than he was at the time, built an airplane. His family was thankful he never flew it although his brother-in-law did. In his spare time he enjoyed oil painting, fishing, and crabbing in Winchester Bay as well as visiting any airport they passed. He loved music and dancing. Dad helped raise four daughters Sandra Gaither, Leslie Anderson (Andy), Debbie Burgett (Jim), Wileen Slack (Luther) He cherished his 7 grandchildren, Deana, Lacey, Twyla, Adam, Ashley, Samantha and Logan, his 7 great grandchildren and 2 great great grand-children. He leaves behind his wife of 70 years, Ella Mae. He also leaves behind his brother Don Heeter (Margaret) step brother Jim Culver, as well as his sister-in-law and her husband, Joy and Jim Reinemer. He will be forever missed and loved but his memory will live on in us all. Clear skies and calm winds ahead, dad. The family would like to thank the staff at Chico Creek Skilled Nursing for the care they gave to dad. The funeral will be at 2:00 Friday, April 6th at Brusie Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Alzheimer's Association.