Robert J. Heaney

1922 - 2016

Aug. 31, 1922 ~ Feb. 17, 2016
Dr. Robert John Heaney died after a brief illness on February 17, 2016 in El Reno, Oklahoma. He was 93. Dr. Heaney was born in East Rochester, New Hampshire, on August 31, 1922. He was the son of Robert Alexander Heaney Jr. and the former Alice Hayes Collier. He had two brothers, Richard C. Heaney and Gerald T. Heaney, and a sister, Joanne E. Heaney (McBride).
Dr. Heaney's father died in 1933, shortly after his Robert's 11th birthday, and at that young age he became the "man of the family", assisting his mother and helping to raise his siblings. Despite this handicap, he graduated on time from Spalding High School in East Rochester, N. H. in the class of 1940. He then attended the University of New Hampshire full time, including summer semesters, and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry in 1943. After graduation he worked for a time at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington D. C., and then, in 1944, joined the U. S. Army as a Technical Sergeant and supervised an analytical chemistry laboratory in Colorado as part of the Manhattan Project. While in Colorado he met Arta Margaret Bowle at a church social, and they were married in Delta, Colorado in June of 1946.
After leaving the Army, Dr. Heaney attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, where he was awarded a PhD in Bio-chemistry in 1949. After graduation he and his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he worked for Uravan as a uranium processing chemist, and subsequently joined Kennecott Copper Corporation. His career at Kennecott spanned 35 years. He started working in the chemistry research laboratory, and then became the head of the Environmental Affairs department. In that capacity he was responsible for ensuring that Kennecott complied with all government environmental regulations. He was also responsible for monitoring air and water pollution at Kennecott facilities, and evaluating and recommending the installation of improved pollution control equipment. He retired from Kennecott in 1985, and spent his time gardening and volunteering with numerous organizations.
Dr. Heaney and his wife were long-time active members of the Wasatch Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, serving in various offices at the local and Presbytery level. Dr. Heaney was also an active member of the Progress Lodge of the Masons from 1970 until 2005. He served as treasurer of the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America for many years. He loved the game of bridge and was a very accomplished player. He remained an enthusiastic ice skater and cross-country skier until well into his '70's, and served as a volunteer in the 2002 Utah Olympic Winter Games.
Dr. Heaney is survived by Richard J. Heaney and his wife Roberta Adams Heaney of Magnolia, Texas, Mark D. Heaney and his wife Judy Wehr Heaney of Yukon, Oklahoma , and Ann E. Heaney Bernal and her husband Daniel J. Bernal of Gilbert, Arizona. His grandchildren are: Amanda Heaney of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Rebecca Heaney Harjo of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Megan Posey of Stillwater, Oklahoma; Andrew Heaney of Piedmont, Oklahoma; Andrea Bernal Palmer of Gilbert Arizona; David T. Bernal of Brooklyn, New York; Adrienne Bernal Bennett of Dallas,Texas and Robert J. Bernal of Phoenix, Arizona . He also had five great-grandsons. His oldest son, Thomas Robert Heaney, passed away in May, 1988. His wife, Arta Bowle Heaney passed away in January, 2007.
Viewing will be held at Wasatch Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 12:00 p.m., to be followed by a memorial service at 2:00 p.m. The Reverend Scott Dalgarno will officiate. A graveside service and interment will follow at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park on Highland Drive in Salt Lake City.
The family suggests donations be made to the Russell Murray Hospice in El Reno, Oklahoma. We thank the nurses and aides of the Saint Catherine Drexel Retirement Center of El Reno for the loving care that they gave our father in the last years of his life.