With sadness we share with you the news of the passing of William Louis "Bill" Heick, 88, on Tuesday, April 8, 2014. Bill served the Diocese of Newark in many areas with commitment, passion and energy.
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 29 Hillview Ave. in Morris Plains, on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at 10 a.m. Interment will follow immediately after the ceremony at Restland Memorial Park in East Hanover. Afterward, there will be a repast at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Bill was born in Newark to Louis and Carolyn Heick. After graduating from West Orange High School in 1943, he immediately enlisted in the United States Navy and proudly served his country in World War II, seeing action in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Following his military service, he worked in the insurance industry and eventually owned the William L. Heick Insurance Agency in West Orange for 32 years before retiring in 2006.
As a young child, Bill started singing in his church choir and continued to do so for the remainder of his life, going from soprano to bass. He was very active in St. Paul's, Morris Plains for over 40 years, serving as vestry member, warden and Sunday School superintendent.
At the diocesan level, Bill was a founding member of the Ward J. Herbert Fund in 1990 and remained active with the board as recently as 2013, as member or chair. He served on Diocesan Council and was a member of its budget committee and insurance committee. Following his Council service, he served on the Standing Committee. Bill also served as diocesan representative trustee on the Nutley Episcopal Senior Manor board, where his insurance experience was quite helpful to the board.
When Episcopal House relocated from 24 Rector Street to 31 Mulberry Street, Bill served as chair of the Relocation Committee, working with architects, general contractor, designer, vendors, staff and others. No detail was too small; he drove to the warehouses to check out the available furniture donations, and it was his idea to collect photographs of each of the churches and frame them for the stairwell display.
Bill recently celebrated 66 years of marriage to his beloved wife, Louise Fraebel Heick. He was a devoted father of Kenneth (and his wife, Patricia); Steven (and his wife, Deborah) and Cynthia Heick Lindblad (and her husband, Paul).
He was a proud and loving grandfather of Paul Lindblad, Heidi Burrows, Madeleine and Isabelle Heick, Christopher and Brian Lalancette, and great-grandfather of Hayden, Ecko and Kayley Lindblad. He was the dear brother of the late Carol Heick and Doris Dunsmore.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to St. Paul's Church in Morris Plains.
God, our Father, we thank you that you have made each of us in your own image, and given us gifts and talents with which to serve you. We thank you for Bill, the years we shared with him, the good we saw in him, the love we received from him. Now give us strength and courage, to leave him in your care, confident in your promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
