Pietje Heim

Born in Steenwijk, Holland to Pieter Oosterdijk and Dora Schuurmann, the seventh of eleven children. Pietje crossed the Atlantic to America with her family at the age 6, in 1930, only 6-months after the stock market crash of 1929. During a storm at sea, Pietje was nearly washed overboard with her brother Gerrett. She survived the trip and grew up in Mora, Minnesota where her parents bought and lived on an 80-acre farm. She met her husband and life-long love, Roy Oliver Heim, in the Calvary Lutheran Church choir. They married on November 20th, 1944, while Roy was home on furlough. To this union, five children were born: Jerome, Randall, Dianne, Stephan, and Debbra. As a young mother, Pietje endured the loss of her eldest child, Jerry, to a brain tumor at the age of six. In 1956, the Heim family moved to St. James, Minnesota, where Roy started a career with Lutheran Brotherhood, which later took them to Rochester, MN in 1959.They became members of Bethel Lutheran Church in 1960 and maintained a life-long membership there. Pietje taught Sunday school and enjoyed other activities with the larger congregation, which Roy was the president of for a period of time. The Heim children were all confirmed at Bethel Lutheran and were active with the church. As a family, they enjoyed camping, outings, music, and extensive travel. Pietje and Roy were very proud that all of their four children were able to get a college education. Their son Randy served in the military and spent a year in Vietnam. Over the years, Pietje and Roy have enjoyed meeting their 9 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Pietje and Roy loved to travel and made several trips back to Europe to find relatives. Family connection was always very important to both of them. Roy was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy, which influenced their lives in terms of moving to a new home, and eventually to Real Life Retirement Community to accommodate his needs. He passed away in 2009 and was buried at Mora, MN. Pietje is survived by her four children: Randy, Dianne, Steve and Debbie, nine grandchildren: Chris, Andy, Jennifer, Erik, Alissa, Joe, Jon, Kathryn and Sean, and seven great-grandchildren: Emily, Thatcher, Grayson, Nola, Cassie, Chloe and Gabe. There will be a funeral service at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, September 18, 2015 at Bethel Lutheran Church.Visitation will be from 10:30 11:30 a.m. at the church on Friday. Burial will take place at Oakwood Cemetery in Mora, MN on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 1:00 p.m.