William "Bill" C. Heisner's Obituary
William C. "Bill" Heisner, age 88, of Pinckneyville, passed away in his home on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 10:20 p.m. Bill was born on November 3, 1918 in Pinckneyville. He was born to Leonard H. and Mary K. (Feltmeyer) Heisner while his father was in France during World War I. Bill was a veteran of World War II serving in the Army Air Corps from April 1942 - November 1945. He married Elizabeth Cunningham on February 28, 1948 in Pinckneyville, and she preceded him in death on May 27, 1999. Prior to the war, he was a farmer and after the war he worked for nine years for Sundstrand Machine Tool Company in Rockford, IL as a supervisor in the aircraft division. He was the first president of the United Steelworkers Union Local 7252. In 1955 he moved his family back to the farm 7 1/2 miles northeast of Pinckneyville, and lived happily for over fifty-one years of marriage before Elizabeth died. In June of the year 2000, he moved to 505 South Main in Pinckneyville. On November 11, 2000, he married Sandra Kosma and she survives. Bill had a life membership in the V.F.W., the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans. He was a former member of the Pinckneyville Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Eagles in Pinckneyville. He was a Farm Bureau member and had served as its treasurer, as well as being treasurer of the Pinckneyville Rural Fire District. He was a member of St. Paul United Church of Christ, Pinckneyville all of his life and served two terms on the church consistory. He was also a charter member of the American Air Museum in Britain, the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the D-Day Museum in New Orleans. In 1970 he was elected as Perry County Treasurer and served three terms. He was the first treasurer to serve under the new state constitution and the last to collect Illinois State Inheritance Tax as it was eliminated during his second term. He was the first Perry County Treasurer to collect real estates taxes; the sheriff had collected them previously, and he later was the first to arrange for the taxpayers to pay real estate taxes at the local banks. He was the first treasurer to prepare the county payroll; the county clerk had done it before. Also, he was the first treasurer to collect dog tax; the township assessors collected them before. Bill also served fifteen years on the Consolidated District 204 School board, as well as on the Pinckneyville High School board. He also served on the Public Aid Board, and for thirty years on the TB board. In addition, Bill served on the Perry County F.H.A. board, and later on the combined Jackson-Perry County F.H.A. board. Survivors include his wife: Sandra of Pinckneyville, three sons: William C. Jr. and wife Sue of Casper, WY, George and his wife Rhonda of rural Tamaroa, and Harry and wife Mary Jane of Conyers, GA, two daughters: Kathryn Jane Astrack and husband Richard of St. Louis, and Elizabeth Ann Evans and husband Robert of Knoxville, TN, two step-children: William J. Kosma of DuQuoin, and Katrina Kosma of DuQuoin, one sister: Mildred Davis of Carmel, IN, three brothers: Leonard J. Heisner and wife Marilyn of Pinckneyville, Nelvin Heisner of St. Louis, and Eldon Bigham and wife Gloria of Glen Carbon, IL, twelve grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife: Elizabeth and her parents, three sisters: Norma Welch, Marie Stanton, and Betty Ann Simms. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul United Church of Christ, Pinckneyville on Friday, January 12, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Cindy Bean officiating. Interment will be in Mueller Hill Cemetery, Pinckneyville with military graveside rites provided by the Presswood-Daffron American Legion Post #2504. Friends may call at St. Paul United Church of Christ, Pinckneyville on Thursday from 5:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. till 10:45 a.m. Memorial donations may be made to Pinckneyville Hospital Home Care or Luke Memorial Hospice. For more information or to sign an online guest register please visit www.pyattfuneralhome.com .
What’s your fondest memory of William "Bill"?
What’s a lesson you learned from William "Bill"?
Share a story where William "Bill"'s kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with William "Bill" you’ll never forget.
How did William "Bill" make you smile?