William “Bill” Coke Heller of Ponte Vedra, Florida died peacefully on Sunday, December 24, 2023. His funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at Epiphany Catholic Church, Normal. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Merna. Visitation will be from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. at Epiphany.
Bill was born July 18, 1935, in Bloomington, Illinois, to Coke and Madeline Hopt Heller. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, John Heller and his wife Alice Sullivan Heller who died in 1979. He married Gloria (Leary) Sweeney in 1985. She survives.
Survivors also include his sister, Patricia Kelley, sister-in-law, Barbara Heller, and many nieces and nephews; his children, Jeanne Heller of Downers Grove, IL, Paul (Julia) Heller of Allen, TX, and Monica (Don) Higgins of Carmel, IN; stepdaughter, Kimberly Sweeney McGowan of Ponte Vedra, FL; and seven grandchildren, Julia and Will Fisher; Madeline Heller (Grant) Jason, Meredith, and Alison Heller; John and Claudia Higgins; and three step-grandchildren, Jake, Riley, and Jamison McGowan.
Bill graduated from Trinity High School in 1953 where he was a 2-way starter on the undefeated 1952 football team. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1957. He traveled back-and-forth from the family home in Towanda to Notre Dame with his father in his single engine plane or by hitchhiking.
Bill and John Heller had a 50-year partnership farming in the Towanda and Cooksville areas and were co-owners of the Fletcher Grain Elevator until they retired in 2007. He approached farming with the precision of a skilled craftsman; meticulously planting, harvesting, and maintaining the land for optimal benefit to the land, owners and future generations.
Bill and Gloria spent winters in Naples and Fort Lauderdale, FL before settling permanently in Ponte Vedra in 2016. Ballroom dancing was a favorite activity. There was not a dance he could not do well, and Gloria said she was lucky because all she had to do was follow his lead. Bill enjoyed waterskiing on Lake Bloomington, Notre Dame football, Cubs baseball and billiards.
Bill was a member of Epiphany Catholic Church where he served as a trustee for seven years, the Knights of Columbus and McLean County Farm Bureau. He was a kind, calm man who was devoted to his faith and family.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) or Epiphany Church.
