Joe F. Heiling

Joe Heiling Obituary

Joe F. Heiling, 78, of Beaumont died Monday, November 29th at his residence. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, December 2nd at 10:00 a.m at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church with burial to follow at Claybar Haven of Rest Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday, December 1st from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Claybar Kelley- Watkins Funeral Home. A Rosary will be recited at 6:00 pm. Joe was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and grew up in Victoria. An avid sports fanatic, he attended Victoria Junior College where he played baseball and graduated with a degree in journalism. Following graduation, Joe married Dottie Troppy and entered the U.S. Air Force. It was at this time, Joe began his 45 year career in journalism as a sports writer, working for numerous newspapers. Joe worked for the Houston Post as a sports writer mainly covering the Astros for ten years. In 1975, Joe moved to Beaumont and became the Sports Editor for the Beaumont Enterprise. Over the course of his career, he received over 30 regional, state and national awards for journalism excellence and is a past-president of the Baseball Writers of America. Joe and his wife, Dottie, are devout Catholics and longtime members of St. Jude Catholic Church where he served as a Eucharistic Minister. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dottie; daughter, Allison Heiling of Beaumont; sons, Randall Heiling of California, Richard Heiling and his wife, Nita, of Houston; one grandson, Austin Heiling; and one brother, Walter Fuller and his wife, Molly of Houston. The family wishes to sincerely thank the personnel from Hospice Of Texas who lovingly took care of Joe at home the last year of his life.

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Published by The Beaumont Enterprise on Dec. 1, 2010.

Memories and Condolences
for Joe Heiling

7 Entries

Kenton Brooks

December 4, 2010

Joe was much more than a boss to me. He taught me so much about writing and journalism. Joe, please know that you will be tremendously missed and are loved. Thank you for everything did for me. My prayers and thoughts also go to Dottie, Allison, Randall and Richard. God Bless All of You.

Ivy McLemore

December 4, 2010

I was a 16-year-old Teletype operator working for The Associated Press at Astros home games in 1974 and set next to Joe for more than 75 of the team's 81 home games that season. He took me under his wing and treated me with the utmost caring and professionalism. I learned something from Joe at each game. He also taught me the many nuances of being an official scorer, as he was the only eligible scorer in Houston that season. Three years later, I became a scorer at the age of 19. I have now scored games for Major League Baseball in five decades and just this week was named to MLB's first-ever executive scoring committee. I remained friends with Joe and attended his 1997 retirement gathering in Beaumont with my father, who had known Joe since the 1960s. I'm a better person for having known you, Joe, and am thankful every day. God bless Joe Heiling.

December 3, 2010

May God bless Joe and his family. I'm going to miss him. Joe gave me my first job at the Beaumont Enterprise, and my first break in the sports writing business. I did three internships for Joe, starting in 1975. Then he blessed me when he told me whenever I graduated from college, he would have a job waiting for me. And he was true to his word, hiring me in 1978. I worked under Joe until 1990. He had a very strong impact on my life, he taught me a lot, I truly enjoyed being in his company, and I have many, many happy memories of our time together. Joe touched a lot of people's lives in a very nice way. Rest in peace, Joe. -- Dwain Price

Tom Halliburton

December 2, 2010

May God always bless and protect a great newspaper man and a wonderful person. I will always cherish our friendship and his influence in my life and I will always miss him.

Julian Galiano

December 1, 2010

I was blessed to work with Joe for 22 years. He was a true professional and a close personal friend. I feel greatly diminished by his passing. I am a better man for Joe having such an influence on my life.

Mary Marusik

December 1, 2010

Richard, Nita and Austin: You are in my thoughts and prayers.

John Kanelis

December 1, 2010

God bless this good man's soul. I worked with Joe for several years before I left Beaumont in early 1995. We shared lots of memories about the "old days" in sports; he would regale me with tales of his days as a beat writer for the Houston Post and his memories of Astros' manager Harry "The Hat" Walker. He was a treasure trove of knowledge. Rest in peace, my friend.

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