Raymond "Ray" A. Heidelberger

Raymond "Ray" A. Heidelberger, age 84 of Villard, died Friday, February 21, 2025 at the Glenwood Retirement Village. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 3rd at St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church in Villard with Father Joe Vandeberg officiating. A Knights of Columbus Rosary will be prayed at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 2nd at the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood. Visitation will be after the Rosary on Sunday from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Visitation will also continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Interment will be in the Calvary Cemetery in Villard. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood.

Raymond “Ray” Allan Heidelberger, the son of Wallace and Hazel (Jensen) Heidelberger was born on October 9, 1940, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ray was the sixth of nine children. The family lived on a produce farm near Golden Valley before moving to another small farm near Zimmerman and then later moving to Elk River. Those years were not without challenges and lean times for the Heidelberger clan, but there were many happy times, like the pet pig who pulled their wagon and later, Beans the cow.

Ray attended St. Andrew’s Catholic School through eighth grade and then attended Elk River High School through 11th grade. Before he left ERHS, he did his part to establish the high school’s hockey team with then Coach Anderson. In 1960 he made the move to Villard, and for the next year he and Judy exchanged letters; she also ventured north on the Greyhound to visit. Ray graduated from Villard High School in 1960, and he and his brother, Leonard, both took jobs at Honeywell in Minneapolis.

He was united in marriage to Judy (Johnson) Heidelberger on July 1, 1961, in Elk River, MN. They made their home in Elk River for almost ten years, before joining Wally and Hazel in Villard in 1971. There they owned and operated Canary Beach Resort until their retirement in 2003. In addition, Ray worked as a machinist at Massman Automation and Design in Villard for 23 years, and he drove bus for the Villard school for 19 years. And, just to be sure they would not have any free time, Ray and Judy bought the small grocery store in Villard in 1973, which they owned, and brother Leonard operated, for approximately 10 years. Ray was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and the Villard Snow Mallards. In addition to his machinist skills, Ray was a skilled carpenter and all-around handyman, with a vast array of projects in flight at any given time. When he wasn’t working on one of his many self-assigned tasks, he could be found outside, no matter the weather: if it was a sunny, summer day, he would be down by the lake, “sprucing up the beach”; if it was a snowy, winter day, he would be plowing the driveway. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend to all.

Ray is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Judy; his children, Paul (Linda) Heidelberger, Terry (Sue) Heidelberger, Jill (Jodean) Gullickson, Martin (Rhonda) Heidelberger, Reed (Sarah) Heidelberger, Becky (Joshua) Thoms, Jacob (Kristine) Heidelberger; 18 grandchildren and many great grandchildren; siblings, Margaret (Dale) Brown, Edward (Lois) Heidelberger and Mary Randt; sister-in-law, Rachel Heidelberger, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Wallace and Hazel Heidelberger; his siblings, Joyce (Earl) Gatz, Donald (Lee) Heidelberger, Robert (Carol) Heidelberger, Kenneth (Donna) Heidelberger, Leonard Heidelberger; brother-in-law, Larry Randt; and great granddaughter Hazel Heidelberger.

Ray’s beaming smile and booming laugh will echo in the minds and hearts of those who knew him: he made us all better, and he will be missed.

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