Charles Melvin Heuchert

Dr. Charles Melvin Heuchert Dr. Charles Melvin Heuchert of Waynesboro, Va. and Topsail Island, North Carolina

husband, father, grandfather, teacher, mentor, friend, child of God

died on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, at Augusta Health after an 11-month battle with cancer. He was 78. He was born on August 30, 1933, in Henning, Minnesota, the youngest of the six children of the Reverend Karl and Amanda Lueker Heuchert.

Advised in high school that he was not college material, he instead joined the United States Air Force, and in 1952 became a psychiatric social worker technician stationed at the Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany. He was mentored there by Dr. Harold Davison, who guided him toward college and his future career. After his honorable discharge, he attended the University of Michigan, earning four degrees between 1959 and 1969, culminating with a Ph.D. in educational psychology. While pursuing graduate studies, he began his teaching career in 1959 in Livonia, Michigan, where he taught in one of the first self-contained classrooms for emotionally disturbed students in a United States public school.

In 1961, he married a teaching colleague, the former Virginia Lou Nelson. Two years later, they moved to Syracuse, New York to continue their careers and to start a family. A son, Daniel Nelson, was born in Syracuse in 1963, and a daughter, Katherine Elaine, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1967. He began his higher education teaching career as a lecturer in special education at Syracuse University in 1963, and held posts at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University before joining the faculty of the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education in 1969 as an assistant professor. He was awarded promotion to associate professor and tenure in 1973 and remained at University of Virginia for three decades, touching the lives of thousands of students before his retirement in 1998 as associate dean for undergraduate programs and licensure. He was a leader in the field of special education, including having served as international president of the Council for Exceptional Children, president of the Virginia State Federation of the Council for Exceptional Children, and president and founder of the Virginia State Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. He was the co-author of two books, wrote many book chapters and articles, and was a sought-after speaker and consultant. He was also active in the community. He was a volunteer member with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad from 1973 until 1976 and served as its vice president the final two years. He was a member of the church council at Saint Mark Lutheran Church, various parent-teacher organizations in the Albemarle County Schools, and the board of directors of the Community Attention Home in Charlottesville. He was later an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Waynesboro. His favorite summers were spent as the summer camp director at Camp Holiday Trails, a residential camp for children with chronic health impairments. His love for children from all backgrounds, his gift for fun and improvisation, his mentorship of the camp staff, and his mastery of the camp dress-up box were the stuff of legend. He later joined the camp's board of directors and served as president in 1997 and 1998. After his first marriage ended in an amicable divorce in 1979, he met and married the former Mary Scott "Bird" Fishburne in 1987 and moved to Waynesboro, adding new circles of friends and family, including stepchildren Westel, William and Mary Scott Willoughby. Chuck and Bird especially enjoyed their evenings with the "Sweet 16" Hors d'Oeurves Club. He was a season ticket-holder for University of Virginia football and men's basketball, and a fervent fan of both the Cavaliers and the University of Michigan Wolverines. A long-time beach lover, Chuck and Bird particularly enjoyed their second home at Topsail Island, North Carolina, where they found yet another circle of friends. He was predeceased by his parents; a sister, Esther Heuchert Meichsner; and two brothers, Vernon Karl Heuchert and Leonard John Heuchert. He is survived by his wife, Mary Fishburne Heuchert of Waynesboro; a sister, Lorene Heuchert Cordes of Henning, Minnesota; two brothers, Lawrence Heuchert and his wife, Carol, of Houston, Texas, and Leonard John Heuchert and his wife, Beverly, of Lees Summit, Missouri; a son, Daniel Nelson Heuchert, and his wife, Lisa Patterson Heuchert, of Charlottesville; a daughter, Katherine Kildea Bennett, and her husband, Craig Bennett, of Ruckersville; two stepsons, United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Westel Woodbury Willoughby and his wife, Dana Willoughby, of Summerville, South Carolina, and William Franklin Willoughby and his wife, Ronda Cornell Willoughby, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and seven grandchildren, Charles Railer Kildea, Aaron Curtis Kildea, Jeffrey David Kildea, Michelle Elizabeth Heuchert, Jonathan Charles Heuchert, Philip Carrington Willoughby and Westel Woodbury Willoughby. A memorial service will be held 4 p.m. Friday, September 23, 2011, at First Presbyterian Church, 11th and Wayne Avenue in Waynesboro, by Dr. Glen A. Holman.

His favorite charities were Camp Holiday Trails, 400 Holiday Trails Lane, Charlottesville VA 22903; and First Presbyterian Church Preschool Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 877, Waynesboro, VA 22980. McDow Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements. Condolences may be shared online at www.mcdowfuneralhomeinc.com.



This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.