Obituary of Howard B. Heiliger

Howard B. Heiliger, 91, passed away at Countryside Home on Monday, October 31, 2011. Howard was born April 2, 1920 in Lancaster, WI, the son of Leo and Lizzie (Bailie) Heiliger. Graduated from Fort Atkinson High School in 1940. He served in the US Marines from mid 1940 to May 11, 1946. Howard served on embassy duty in Shanghai, China. He left China and arrived in Olongapoo Naval Base fall of 1941. Six days later WWII began. 6 months later they were overrun by the Japanese. He spent 40 months as a prisoner of war, along with 75,000 others, from the Philippines to Mukden Manchuria. He is a survivor of the Bataan Death March. He received from the military the Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, the POW Medal, the Army Distinguished Unit Badge with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster and many others. A highlight of his life was participating in the Badger Honor Flight to Washington DC in 2010. After the military he learned the carpenter trade under the G.I. Bill. He later retired from Jones Dairy Farm in Fort Atkinson, WI. Married to Elvira Kutz on October 10, 1946. She preceded him in death on April 25, 1992. He is survived by their three children Patricia Parker, Appleton, WI, Michael (Roxanne) Heiliger, Crystal Lake, IL, and Gail (Greg) Vorlob, Fort Atkinson, WI. Grandchildren: Jennifer Parker Hamilton, Seattle, Washington, Jamie Parker, Appleton, WI, Stacy (Randy) Weber, Crystal Lake, IL, Mark Heiliger, Los Angeles, CA, one great granddaugher, Ivadel Ashlin Weber, one brother Leonard (Irene) Heiliger, Fort Atkinson, WI, and many nieces and nephews. On January 9, 1993, he married Janet Monsen Eisele in Fountain Hills, AZ. Her children are Timothy (Linda) Eisele, Thomas (Sandra) Eisele, Theodore (Shelley) Eisele, Michael (Karen) Eisele, and Todd Eisele, dec�d. Funeral Services will be held Thursday, November 3, 2011, at 2:30PM at the Nitardy Funeral Home Chapel, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin with Rev. Sandra Nuernberg officiating. Burial with military rites will be in the Hebron Cemetery, in the Town of Hebron, Wisconsin. Friends may call after 1:30PM on Thursday at the funeral home until the services. Those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider a memorial to the Edwin Frohmader VFW Post #1879 of Fort Atkinson or to the Badger Honor Flight Program.