Community icon laid to rest

STAFFORD — Fredericksburg resident Shirley Heim lost her battle with cancer Oct. 7 after a lifelong commitment to her community and family, and a life lived to the fullest. She was laid to rest Sunday.

Heim left a legacy of unselfish service to the Stafford County Schools System and the community at large through her work with the Rotary Club and the youth of Stafford County.

Vicki Lewis, Heim’s longtime friend, met Heim when both were young girls in Fredericksburg.

“Shirley lived each day as fully as anyone I’ve ever known,” said Lewis. 

Heim’s funeral was held Sunday at Covenant Funeral Serivce’s Fredericksburg Chapel.

She left behind her husband Phil Heim and daughter Aileen Heim, in addition to her brothers and other close members of her family, according to her obituary.

Heim’s career with the schools system spanned 36 years following her graduation from Mary Washington College and the University of Virginia. Heim was the director of Stafford’s Head Start, as well as the schools’ Assistant Superintendent of Finance.

She retired from Stafford County Public Schools in 2003.

“Shirley was respected and admired by all of her colleagues and she definitely made an impression on them. Even after retiring Shirley stayed totally active in all of the school and community programs that she held dear,” said David Sawyer, superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools.

School board Chairman Patricia Healy called Heim a “remarkable woman.“

“Mrs. Heim had tremendous energy and for decades used it for the benefit of our schools and our community. Mrs. Heim’s many accomplishments survive her and are a tribute to her outstanding career as an educator. I was privleged to hear her speech at the dedication of Shirley Heim Middle School, which was an inspiration to students, faculty, parents and community members,“ said Healy in an e-mail to the Stafford County Sun.

Heim also served on nine boards and committees including the Moss Free Clinic, the Stafford Education Foundation and Olde Forge Junction, Inc.  As a member of the Stafford Rotary Club, her service continued with projects ranging from the Festival of Trees and Mary Washington Rotaract’s Senior Prom.

Heim worked tirelessly with the Rotary Club, establishing Interact Clubs, a form of Junior Rotary Club, at the local high schools and Rotaract Clubs at three of the local colleges. She also helped establish essay and speech contests for the schools system.

Heim too, led The Good Time Cloggers, an Appalachian dance team that entertained audiences in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and beyond. She additionally continued through outreach to nursing home residents, helping with the Duck Race each year and worked to give each third-grade student in Stafford County a dictionary.

Her legacy will forever live on at Shirley C. Heim Middle School — Stafford’s school ultimately named for Heim. And the local Rotary Club offers a scholarship (The Shirley C. Heim Memorial Scholarship) in her name.

Sandy Duckworth, a Rotarian who knew Heim for more than 20 years, said she has been amazed at Heim’s strength. She had a love for young people and a need to help those less fortunate. From book drives to helping immigrant families, “Shirley was right there,” and she had a way of keeping her humor, too.

Friends noted Heim’s love of history and music.

Jane Conner, a local historian and author, said Heim was a definite “energizer bunny” but even moreso she was simply a kind person — so kind, said Conner, and she did so much for the community, it was amazing.

Conner said she suggested Heim’s name and was part of the naming committee for Shirley C. Heim Middle School. And she is so happy that the project came to fruition and that Heim could see it happen.

Fred Donahue, who knew Heim through Rotary, said that Heim wouldn’t just suggest someone do something. She’d be right there doing it too. Any physical ailments she had didn’t stop her or hold her down. She worked so hard, he said, but she had fun, too. She enjoyed music and dance, and was quite a “well-rounded person.”

Friends agreed that Heim believed in Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self.”

A blood drive is scheduled in Heim’s honor for Oct. 21 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Stafford County School Board office complex in the Parks and Recreation building located at 29 Stafford Ave.  To schedule an appointment, visit givelife.org and type in Heim. Appointments will be taken first.  A drive will also take place at the Red Cross Donation Center at 4826 Southpoint Parkway in Fredericksburg. To schedule an appointment at that location, visit givelife.org and type in “Fred”.

Don Halcombe is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun. Tracy Bell is managing editor of the Sun. Reach them at .