Willard J. (Bill) Heth

Willard J. (Bill) Heth went to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday October 19, 2010. Graveside Service: 3:00 P.M. Friday at Salado Cemetery, in Salado, Texas. Visitation: 7-9 P.M. Thursday at Mountain Valley Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Wings of Hope Equitherapy (817-790-8810) Bill was born Jan. 12, 1920 in Parkston, S.D. to Jacob A. and Magdalena Wudel Heth. Bill volunteered for service in the Army in 1942 and he always had an interest in airplanes, so he applied and was accepted to pilot training from which he graduated in 1944. He flew various planes during his career including C-47s andC-46s during WWII in the South Pacific. He was one of the first to fly C-47s loaded with communication equipment in to Tokyo which was then used for a temporary control tower. Bill was separated from the military in 1946 but stayed in the active reserve flying C-46 and working for the Navy as an automotive machinist. In Aug. of 1946 Bill married Marleane M. Owens in Oakland, CA. They were blessed with two daughters, Patricia and Pamela. In 1951 he was recalled to active duty as an air traffic control officer and served until 1971 when he was medically retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel because of loss of required vision after having served during WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. They settled in Austin, TX working for a homebuilding company. In 1973 they moved to Salado, TX. While in Salado, Bill was associated with Mac Sherill, founder of Mill Creek. He worked with Mac in the management of the golf course until Mac's health failed and he sold out to Don Mackie and Assoc. in 1981. During Don's ownership he helped with expanding the 18 hole golf course, and starting the Mill Creek Homeowners Assoc. Following Don's death, Bill retired full time. He was a member of Salado Methodist Church since 1973. In 2006 Bill and Marleane moved to Burleson.