Katherine M. Heyl

Katherine M. Heyl beloved sister, aunt, wife, stepmother, and grandmother, died on October 20, 2009. She was 95 years old. Katherine was a joy to all who knew her. She was always adventuresome, a true daughter of West Virginia and a pioneer in Arizona. Born on December 15, 1913, she grew up on the McCulloch family farm in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with six sisters and one brother. She graduated from Marshall College with teaching certification and taught school for several years. The opportunity to become a Girl Scout professional brought her to Tucson in 1951. But she wanted to return to her love of teaching and worked at Lineweaver Elementary as a school secretary, studying at the University of Arizona toward her teaching certification. In 1962 she met and married Theodore C. Heyl, a Tucson attorney. Katherine's next great adventure came when then Cong. Morris K. Udall appointed her postmaster of the new town of Green Valley, 25 miles south of Tucson, in 1964. She led the post office there until 1975, as it moved from 4th class to 1st class status with the steady growth of Green Valley. Her final years were spent at Atria Campana del Rio in Tucson. She is survived by sisters, Jean Couch Ringler, Pauline (Polly) Tanzi, Elizabeth Ann Koehler, Nancy Richardson Meyer; numerous nieces and nephews, stepchildren, Ted Heyl, Mary Sawyer and John Heyl; five grandchildren and two great- grandchildren. Katherine is buried next to her husband, Theodore Heyl, in South Lawn Cemetery, Tucson.