Orva Heissenbuttel

MONTROSS, Va. — Orva Walker Heissenbuttel, 91, Gallia County native, passed away at her home in Montross, Virginia on October 31, 2018.

Born October 27, 1927 near Cora, Perry Township , she was the eldest daughter of Zelma Phillips and Jackson Tandy Walker. She maintained close connections to her family and home place all her life. She was educated at Cora and Brushy Point one room school, then Perry Rural and Rio Grande High School where she was valedictorian of her class of 1945. Following graduation she attended Bliss Business College in Columbus. Working for the Civil Service in Dayton, she was appointed chief of the US Army Air Force Regular Officer Unit at Wright Field.

There she met Capt. William George Heissenbuttel. They were married August 3, 1947. He was a native of Manhattan, NY and Jersey City, so encountering Orva's folks on Fair Oaks Farm was a novel experience. But he loved Zelma's cooking, Jack Walker's good humor and walking the fields and woods. Married to an Air Force officer, Orva accompanied him on assignments to Michigan, Holloman AFB, New Mexico (where they were acquainted with some of those German rocket scientists) and California, returning in 1952 to Wright-Patterson AFB.

The next assignment was to Andrews AFB near Washington, D.C. Orva soon became interested in antiques and journalism. Entirely self taught, she began to lecture, teach classes and seminars on antiques and to write a weekly "About Antiques" feature. During her decades in the Washington area she taught hundreds of students and eventually reached many more with her "Antiques and Americana" column for the Washington Star newspaper. She had a knack for bringing people with shared interests together, forming the American Antique Arts Association (18 chapters) and other groups devoted to Heisey, Duncan, and Imperial glassware. She even learned to make her own blown glass at Virginia Commonwealth University. Returning to Gallia County often, she presented a seminar at Riverby, instructed classes on furniture refinishing and antique and collectible glass for the School of Homestead Living at Rio Grande College and an Antiques Workshop at the Ariel Theatre.

In later years she and her husband joined daughter Iris on Virginia's Northern Neck. Winters were spent with daughter Lili in Key Largo, Florida. Orva always enjoyed travel, gardening, and her relationship with her two grandsons, and especially telling all about it. Major Heissenbuttel,

Orva's husband of 69 years, was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014. She was preceded in death by her brother, Jackson Walker Jr, sister, Etta Walker Altizer, and brothers-in-law David Altizer, Marion Jack Harrison, and John Gilliam. She now leaves behind daughters Iris and Lili Heissenbuttel, son-in-law Carey Howlett, and grandsons Inigo Walker Howlett and Owen Trowbridge (Rachel) Howlett. She is also survived by sisters Marcella Walker Harrison Gilliam of Gallipolis, Mary Walker (Victor J) Niday of Lincoln Pike, and Karen Walker (James) McElyea of Inglewood Florida and many beloved nieces and nephews. As a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, she leaves a legacy of sharing knowledge and caring for her community.

A memorial service in Gallia County is planned in the spring. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Cora Community Center, Treasurer Jo Ann Hill, 4274 Cora Mill Road, Gallipolis, 45631.