Wm. C. "Bill" Heller Jr.

Wm. C. ("Bill") Heller, Jr. a Milwaukee resident until the summer of 2000, when he and wife, Joan, took up year round residence in their Paradise Valley, AZ home passed away on August 23, 2004. He was born on April 15, 1922, in Milwaukee to William Heller, Sr. and Ethel Hefter Heller. He was employed for a number of years in various managerial capacities at Milprint, a major flexible packaging supplier. Since 1960, he has been a consultant, inventor, and foundation executive. Heller, who graduated from Car-negie-Mellon University and Harvard Business School, had his education interrupted by World War II. He volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1943-46, including the European theater. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1948. Heller was an inventor and licensor. He was the inventor or co-inventor of numerous patents in the United States and Canada, as well as in many foreign countries, such as Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan. These patents have been principally in the areas of plastics, bonding of materials, imaging, and packaging. An early patent of his substantially improved the extrusion of thermoplastic films used as packaging materials. After assignment of the patent by Heller to Philip Morris, it was sold to U.S.I. (National Distillers), who in turn cross-licensed the patent to major companies in the plastics and chemical fields, including Mobil and Diamond Shamrock. Heller served as a consultant in such fields as agriculture, real estate, and packaging. As a result of his many contributions to the packaging field during his lifetime, in November 2000, he was honored by the Packaging Education Forum with induction into the Packaging Hall of Fame. Heller was involved in a number of civic and charitable activities. He was a member of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce, Technical Association of Graphic Arts, National Flexible Packaging Association (serving as Founding Chairman of the Product Specification Committee from 1956-59). He was on the board of directors and an officer of the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center for a number of years, a member of the Mayo Sponsors, member of the board of corporation of the farmer Mount Sinai Medical Center, and regional officer of Carnegie-Mellon University alumni. For several years he was a director of the Harvard Business School Club of Wisconsin. He was a member of Temple Sinai in Fox Point, and of Temple Chai in Phoenix. Heller is survived by his wife, Joan (nee Pereles); sons William J. (Nancy L.) Heller of Paradise Valley, AZ, Paul (Diane) Heller of Atlanta, GA, and daughters Janet (Michael Krischer) Heller of Portage, MI, Pegi Taylor of Milwaukee, WI, and Nancy J. (Roger Lob) Heller of Stamford, CT. He is also survived by a brother, James K. (Avis) Heller, of Milwaukee, WI, brother-in-law Richard (Marilyn) Pereles of Potomac, MD, sister-in-law, Ann Pereles of Milwaukee, WI, as well as eleven grandchildren, Wendy, Jamie, Preston, Randi, and Reed Heller, Jay, Ross, and Daniel Heller, Caitlin Taylor, and Karen and Mark Lob, and nieces and nephews, other relatives, and many friends. Services will be held on Thursday,, August 26 , 2004 at 10:00 am at Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Rd., Phoenix, AZ. Burial will be at Paradise Memorial Gardens, 9300 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to Mayo Foundation, 13400 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale AZ 85259, or ASU Foundation, College of Business, Main Campus, P.0. Box 871003, Tempe, AZ 85287-1003, or a charity of the donor's choice.