Obituary of Mildred Ann Heffernon

Mildred Ann (Millie) Heffernon went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. She was born in Princeton, WI on February 20, 1932, the daughter of Joseph and Caroline Dalka. Millie met her husband-to-be Donald Richard (Dick) Heffernon when she walked into his Ice Cream Shoppe in Princeton and ordered a pineapple malt. They were married on June 10, 1950 and soon their home was full of children. They lived in Oshkosh, WI in their early years of marriage, moving to Wisconsin Rapids for a better job opportunity for Dick. Millie’s greatest treasure in life was her family of eight, 5 daughters and 3 sons. Dick kept suggesting that a dozen kids sounded wonderful, and her retort was always the same- she had the first eight and he could have the last four. Their license plates each had their own revelation- Dick’s said, “8 is GREAT,” Millie’s read, “8 is ENUF.” She was a very energetic young mom, often staying up until 2:00 A.M. to sew pajamas and knit mittens and socks for her growing kids. She always had a meal on the table for supper and learned how to make a meal stretch. A simple tater-tot casserole would feed her family by adding a couple smokie-links to the casserole dish; or her famous tuna, cream of mushroom soup and peas over rice dish just created one day because those were ingredients left in the cupboard at the end of the week. At Christmas time, she baked a variety of delicious cookies and kept them hidden in a black-spotted oven roaster, only to find her kids had eaten the majority of them before Christmas morning. As her children grew up and she had some time for herself, she enjoyed coffee with the neighborhood moms while kids played in the neighborhood. She also joined a bowling league and became an avid bowler, scoring many 300-point games. In later years, she worked part-time as a bookkeeper for Jackson Vending Company and also helped run their store, The Bottle House. Over the last few years of her life, she often reminisced, recalling what a happy life she had. Her life was simple, but it was full- Full of life’s greatest treasure…love. She is survived by her children: Sue (Will) Kissinger, Jean (Art) Hanneman, Julie (Dwight) Siewert, Pat (Sue) Heffernon, Mary (Jeff) McCarthy, Kelly (Jeff) Simkowski, Steve (Alecia) Heffernon, and Rick Heffernon. She was blessed with 16 grandchildren: Craig Kissinger, Kelly (Jonathan) Vaver, Krista (Nate) Good, Eric (Tammy) Hanneman, Jordan (Jessica) Hanneman, Joel Hanneman, Morgan Siewert, Ethan Siewert, Raechel Heffernon, Jake Heffernon, Meghan (Casey) Mapes, Keaton McCarthy, Brendon McCarthy, Jason Simkowski, Dana (Mark) Mahoney, Logan Simkowski, and 12 great grandchildren, her sister, Bernice, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick, and her brother, Erwin. Visitation will be held from 9:00-11:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 28, 2017 followed by a service at 11:00 A.M. at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home in Wisconsin Rapids. Burial will take place at Welsh Cemetery in Berlin, Wisconsin. Millie’s family would like to thank Dr. Fred Perryman, Dr. Ron Kirschling and the staff at Aspirus Cancer Center for their tender care. The family would also like to thank Herman-Taylor Funeral Home for all of their support and care in our time of need.