- Date Of Birth: September 24, 1927
- Date Of Death: June 19, 2014
- State: Indiana
Colonel Hilton E. Heineke Jr. Hilton Edward (Bill) Heineke Jr. died suddenly at his home on Thursday, June 19th 2014. He was 86. He was born on September 24, 1927, in Philadelphia, PA, the first son of Hilton and Emily (West) Heineke. They preceded him in death.
Bill, his wife, Josie, and their three children moved to Vincennes in 1960. At the time, he was a captain in the US Army at Fort Knox, KY, and would have made that his career. The sudden passing of his father created an opportunity to make a better life for his family. Bill’s father was a career military officer and they lived in Hawaii, Illinois and Washington, among other posts, while Bill was growing up. Family home movies from the 1930’s show ships at anchor in Pearl Harbor during a company baseball game when the family was stationed at Schofield Barracks.
A graduate of Colgate University in upstate New York, Bill first joined the US Air Force, but later decided that the Army was for him. He married Josephine Duddy in Oneonta, NY, on September 8, 1951. After settling in Vincennes, where Bill was a representative for United Services Life, he continued his love for the military by joining the Indiana National Guard. He attained the rank of Colonel by the time of his retirement in the 1970’s, and was affectionately known as The Colonel from then on. He was a longtime fixture at the Elks Country Club, where his weekend was complete if he could take a couple of quarters from neighbor Jim McCormick in a 50-cent Nassau game.
He passed his love for golf to his children and could diagnose a swing problem over the telephone. He is survived by his sons Hilton (Toby) of Fishers, IN, Bill (Joanne) of River Forest, IL, and devoted daughter, Emily, who took special care of him after Josie passed away in November, 2009. He had five grandchildren and a great-grandchild is expected in December. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Richard Heineke.
