Vergene ("Gene") August Heiman was born December 3, 1933 on the family farm in Alcester, South Dakota to parents Earl and Marie (Busch) Heiman. Gene was welcomed into eternal life on May 5, 2017.  He died peacefully surrounded by his family at the Hawarden Regional Hospital in Hawarden, Iowa at the age of 83.

Gene grew up in Alcester, attended Ring Country School and graduated from Alcester High School in 1951. He was united in marriage to Corinne Stephens on November 7, 1954 and to this union was born 5 children: Steve, Scott, Stuart, Susan and Rob.  Gene and Corinne farmed in the Alcester area for over 30 years.  They received the Century Award from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture for operating a farm that had been in the Heiman family for over 100 years.  Gene had a very strong faith and was devoted to his church.  He served 16 years as the chairman of the congregation and held many other offices in the church.  He also spent many Saturday evenings preparing for the youth bible study group he led after church on Sunday mornings.  He and Corinne also enjoyed being part of an adult bible study group with other couples in the area.  It was common that Gene and his family would be the last ones out of the church each Sunday.  Having 5 children, Gene was very interested in their education.  He ran and was elected to the Union County School Board during the early 1970's.  After Gene retired from farming, he and Corinne managed motels in Oklahoma, Texas and South Dakota.  He then worked as the Maintenance Director for the Morningside Manor nursing home in Alcester and the Arbor Manor nursing home in Fremont, Nebraska.  Gene loved helping the residents and treated them as family.

Gene knew the value of hard work and never shied away from a challenge. Between his physical strength, his impressive math skills and his German determination, he was able to fix anything from a windrower in the field to welding parts for his farm equipment to keeping his children's cars up and running.   Gene loved horses; he grew up working the farm with horses.  Gene especially loved being a farmer and he and his 4 sons spent numerous hours on their Oliver tractors planting and harvesting the crops along with tending to the livestock.

In his spare time, Gene enjoyed bowling on a league in Alcester, ballroom dancing in Sioux Falls, playing cards with friends and traveling to the Black Hills with his family for vacations. Gene spent many hours remodeling the home that he and Corinne lived in after leaving the family farm.  Gene cherished his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  He spent his life making sure they were well taken care of and that they knew they were deeply loved.

Gene is survived by four children: Steve Heiman, Sioux Falls, SD, Stuart (Lori) Heiman, Alcester, SD, Susan (Bob) Weber, Rapid City, SD and Rob (Tamra) Heiman, Alcester, SD; 13 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.  Gene was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved son Scott, and his brother Burdette Heiman.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, May 7 at 2:00 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church in Alcester, SD. Visitation will be available in the church one hour prior to services.  Interment will be at Peace Lutheran Cemetery followed by a dessert reception in the church fellowship hall.