Robert Joseph Heidenreich

6/15/1926 — 1/24/2022

• Service Date: 2/19/2022
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Robert Heidenreich, 95, of Kendrick, died Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.

Robert “Bob” Joseph Heidenreich was born into the good Catholic family of Raymond F. (Hap) Heidenreich and Bernice Zola Fellwock in Stirum, N.D., on June 15, 1926. He joined four brothers and soon a little sister, Rita, would appear. His father ran the local lumberyard, and his mother was a teacher.

When Bob was 5, his family moved to a 160-acre farm near Milnor, N.D. The farm used four horses to plant and harvest. It was all hard work, and everyone contributed. His father picked up odd jobs, one of which was driving the neighborhood “school bus.” Bob remembered it as a horse-drawn bobsled in the winter and a canvas-topped covered wagon in other seasons.

At the age of 12, Bob moved with his family into town, where they operated a dray service. Bob worked right alongside his father.

Bob watched one after another of his three older brothers join the U.S. Army Air Corps. and go into World War II. The fourth brother joined the U.S. Army and served in the infantry. Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy before graduating from high school. On his 18th birthday, he was in Minneapolis being sworn into the Navy and sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.

In 1945, he shipped out, bound for Pearl Harbor. From there, he joined a convoy of troop ships stopping in the Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, and finally at their destiny in the Philippines. Bob worked in a supply depot there, driving truck from Victory Ships to the warehouses.

He was discharged in 1946 and returned home. The local REA Co-op offered him a job building power lines. Bob apprenticed as a lineman, receiving the training for his lifelong career.

When Bob married, he and his wife moved to Hysham, Mont. They adopted a baby boy, Kurt, but the marriage ended in divorce 15 years later. The boy elected to stay with his mother.

Bob moved farther west and applied at Washington Water Power Company. He worked at the power plant between Moscow and Pullman until his retirement.

While living in Moscow, he met and married Camille Labine in 1977. Camille had four children: sons Chuck, Lance and Lon Labine, and daughter Suzanne Jacksha. They loved and respected their stepfather. Camille died in 1983 after a devastating illness, leaving Bob a widower.

In the 1980s, he met Helen Fey, a widow from Kendrick. They fell in love and married when Bob retired in 1987. Bob was very happy during this period of his life. He was glad to trade Moscow for Kendrick, since it reminded him of the small towns of his youth. Helen came as a package deal with her four children: Sharon Harris, Jody Fey, Lynda Brocke and Jane Ford. They all had children and grandchildren. Bob now had a new family of several generations to love and have them love him in return.

He loved his years on the farm on Cedar Ridge Road. He fed the wildlife and the birds and kept the lawn manicured. He could be seen hauling the great-grandchildren in his wagon behind his John Deere mower.

When life became too difficult to manage, both Bob and Helen moved into Royal Plaza at Lewiston. They were happy there. Helen died Dec. 10, 2019, after 32 years of marriage to Bob. The family wishes to thank the Royal Plaza staff for their tender care.

When Bob liked something, he couldn’t get enough of it. We took him out for eggs Benedict often, he loved his blackberry brandy, and while at Royal Plaza, he decided he loved and craved chocolate. When you came to visit, you better bring chocolate.

He had a love of life and was always greatly interested in each and every person he met. He belonged to the Elks Club, The Knights of Columbus, Baker-Lind Post of Veterans of Foreign Wars (where he served as commander at one time,) and Kendrick Methodist Church.

Bob had a giving heart and gave generously to several charities in Kendrick, including the Grange, the Kendrick Museum, J-K Samaritan Food Bank, J-K Ambulance, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Kendrick Swimming Pool. He would be pleased if you wished to contribute to any of these organizations in his name.

A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 19 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kendrick. Come with your memories of Bob.

Service Information

Date & Time

Saturday, February 19, 11:00 AM

Location

Kendrick VFW Hall
301 B Street
Kendrick, Idaho 83537

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