Jay Louis Heider, 90, passed away on Saturday, September 18, 2021, at the Rehabilitation and Living Center within The Homestead Complex in Rochester.
He was born October 15, 1930, in Abrams, Wisconsin to Alex and Florence (Knowles) Heider. He attended grade school at the Knowles School in the Abrams vicinity. Then at the age of thirteen he left Abrams and went to live and work with relatives in the Escanaba, Michigan vicinity. He worked in the pulpwood cutting industry until enlisting in the Army in 1948. Early in his Army days he tested for and obtained a GED High School diploma.
He then attended Army Training Courses and became an electrician. He served two years at Fort Churchill, Canada, as part of an Engineering Research and Development Group out of Ft. Belvor, VA. He left the Army in August, 1951, and returned to the Abrams WI area. After a time, Chicago beckoned. He went there in October, 1952, and went to work at the Ford Aircraft Engine Plant as a shipping clerk. A year later he left Ford and spent the next year attending the DeVry Technical School studying basic, nuclear, and industrial electronics. With that background Jay went to work for IBM as a Customer Engineer servicing IBM equipment in the customers’ offices.
In 1956 he married the love of his life, Arlene. They lived in the Chicago vicinity (primarily Streamwood, IL) for the next ten years. They added two children to the family, James and Debra, before moving to Rochester.
He helped organize the AMVETS Post 238 in Streamwood and became its 2nd Post Commander. He has been a life time member of the AMVETS since 1960.
In 1966 Jay became an Instructor in the IBM Education Center, training new hires in the servicing of IBM equipment. He stayed in the Education Department until his retirement in 1990. During that time he had many tasks including stand-up-instruction, developing new training courses, writing technical manuals, developing training films, and his favorite – the developing of computer directed courses for the Field Instruction System.
Throughout the years in Rochester, Jay stayed involved in many areas. The Heiders bought farmland forty miles south of Rochester and until his death Jay was involved with farming. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, bowling, and above all, his children and grandchildren. He loved to write and would often write poems, etc. to the family members. He had a great sense of humor and could find a laugh in almost anything. He will be missed.
Jay is survived by his wife of 65 years, Arlene; son, James (Donna) Heider of Alpharetta, GA; daughter, Debra (Richard) Nichols, Lakeville, MN; grandchildren: Michael Heider, and Jennifer ( Adam) McClish, and Derek, and Megan Nichols; great-granddaughter, Anna McClish.
He was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters, one brother, a special nephew raised as a brother, and a daughter-in-law, Tracy Heider.
The Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, September 24, 2021, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1315 12th Ave NW, Rochester, MN 55901. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Rochester. The Funeral Mass will be live-streamed here: https://youtu.be/DHIBYZcT-yQ
Memorials can be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, American Macular Degeneration Foundation, and St. Pius X Catholic Church.
Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com
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