MADISON - Marion Joan Heiman, age 92, of Madison, Wis., died Friday, March 3, 2023, at her home after a long illness. She was born Dec. 8, 1930, in Madison, the daughter of Willis McCray and Grace Morgan McCray.
Joan was a daughter of the Great Depression. She enjoyed accompanying her father when he hunted to put food on the table. In fact, she bought a shotgun just so she could go hunting with him. She and her brother, Don, lived at various times with aunts, uncles, cousins, and their grandmother at her parents’ home on Madison’s east side, creating bonds that lasted their lifetimes. Joan grew up listening to the Metropolitan Opera on the radio with her mother. Her favorite opera was La Bohème. She sang in school choirs and ensembles and graduated with the “Class of ‘48” from Madison East High School. Childhood friends from the neighborhood remained friends for life. Her cousins were like siblings to her.
Joan attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she encountered an old high school boyfriend, Ernie Heiman. She later began studies at the Superior State Teachers College in Superior before moving to Arizona and then to Colorado while husband Ernie served in the U.S. Air Force at home and overseas during the Korean conflict.
Joan and Ernie returned to Madison, and eventually moved to Wisconsin Dells where Ernie took his first high school English teaching job. Joan and Ernie enjoyed hosting students at their home after the prom and for 16 mm movie showings of MacBeth and more. They returned to Madison in 1964 with children Beth, Julie, Kathleen (Kitty) and Joel (Joe), and made their home in the LaFollette neighborhood on the east side.
Joan enthusiastically supported her children’s pursuit of diverse interests. She also instilled in them a love of reading and a love of nature with her knowledge of woodland wildflowers, trees and songbirds. She knew a Red Oak from a Bur Oak and a White Oak - not to be confused with a Shagbark Hickory or a Black Walnut. She loved singing in the church choir and singing along to recordings of the Irish folk singers, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. She had a beautiful voice.
Joan worked as an educator at Glendale Elementary School to some of the first deaf and hearing impaired students who were “mainstreamed” into classrooms with their hearing peers. She was an early student of Sign Language and loved learning alongside her students. Joan fostered ties with students from Glendale who remained close to “Ma Heiman” up to the end of her life. She joined the congregation of First Christian Church, became church secretary, and met friends who became like family to her. Her life was made richer with the birth of her grandchildren, Andy, Nicolas, Bryan, Grace, Dexter, and Sam, and she greatly enriched theirs.
Joan’s was a life marked by the heartbreaking losses of Ernie, two grandsons and her daughter. Music, poetry and faith gave her comfort. At age 91, she self-published two volumes of poetry on far-ranging topics. Determined to witness her only granddaughter’s marriage despite being quite ill in the fall of 2022, and being a woman of considerable resolve with a dose of stubbornness, she attended the wedding and was one of the last to leave at dusk, at the end of a magical day.
Joan is survived by her children, Julie (David) Ellis of Waterford, Wis., Kathleen Heiman (Jeff Budrys) of Issaquah, Wash., and Joel (Nicole) Heiman of Madison; grandchildren, Bryan O’Connor of Sun Prairie, Grace Heiman (Sam Parker) of Sheridan, Wyo., Dexter Budrys of Lafayette, Colo., and Samuel Heiman of Madison; two nieces, Cathy and Amy; and many cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Donald H. McCray; husband, Ernie Jean Heiman; grandsons, Nicolas Seta Ratsimihah and Andrew Christian Palmer; and daughter, Beth O’Connor.
The family wishes to thank Agrace HospiceCare for the dedicated care they provided and Visiting Angels for their help and support.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made in Joan’s name to Second Harvest, Boys Town, or the Arbor Day Foundation.
Dear friends and family: A Celebration of Life will be held in early summer to honor Joan. Please let the family know if you would like more information by contacting us at McHeiman123@gmail.com.
