Virgil E. Heimkes – 83

Virgil E. Heimkes, age 83, of Brownton, passed away on Thursday, August 19, 2021, at his home in Brownton. Private Family Service will be held at a later date with interment in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. The Rev. R. Allan Reed will officiate.
Virgil Ervin Heimkes was born on December 1, 1937, in Green Isle. He was the son of William and Emily (Herd) Heimkes. He was baptized as an infant on March 4, 1945, by The Rev. Otto Friesen and later confirmed in his faith as a youth on April 6, 1952, both at St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ in rural Hamburg. Virgil received his education in Arlington, Minnesota and was a graduate with the Arlington High School class of 1956.
Virgil entered active military service in the United States Army on November 20, 1956, in Gaylord. He received an Honorable Discharge on October 27, 1958, in Minneapolis, and achieved the rank of Private First Class.
On September 19, 1959, Virgil was united in marriage to JoAnne Hahn at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gaylord. This marriage was blessed with two children, David and Julie. Virgil and JoAnne resided in Gaylord until 1972, then moving to Arlington. They relocated to Brownton in 2000. They shared 61 years of marriage.
Virgil was employed as a mechanic at Zrust & Van Eyll Chevrolet in Young America, Minnesota and then for Poquette Chevrolet in Gaylord. In the summer of 1972, when they moved to Arlington, he worked for Brau Chevrolet and drove truck for Crystal Farms in Gaylord until his retirement in 1999.
He enjoyed fishing, remodeling, and building things.
Virgil is survived by his wife, JoAnne (Hahn) Heimkes of Brownton; son, David Heimkes and his wife, Tammy, of Emmett, ID; daughter, Julie Day (Heimkes) of Brownton, and her significant other, John Olson, Cokato; grandchildren, Letitia Zodrow (Ricky), Lindsay Heimkes, Lacie Wright (Adam), and Isaac Heimkes; great-grandchildren, Raelynn, Garrett, and Hasley; sister, LauraAnn VanEyll of Waconia; brother, Ray Heimkes of Arlington; sister-in-law, RoseMary Heimkes of Shakopee; many other relatives and friends.
Virgil is preceded in death by his parents, William and Emily Heimkes; brothers, Earl Heimkes, Russell Heimkes; sister, Rachel Fahey.