Joseph William Heit

Joseph William Heit, 91, of Detroit Lakes, MN, passed peacefully Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at Pelican Landing Memory Care. 

Joseph was born March 23, 1932 to Clarence and Barbara (Leibham) Heit on the family farm near Devils Lake, ND. He attended a rural grade school and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Devils Lake. Following graduation, he served in the US Army Artillery in Korea from 1951 to 1954. When Joe returned home, he managed several grocery stores for National Tea, including the Detroit Lakes store. Transferring often was too much for the family, so Joe transitioned to hardware and home goods sales, working for Gambles. He returned to grocery, working at Evans Super Market, Wallin's Red Owl, Vern & Lynn’s, and County Market. After nearly 50 years in the grocery business, he retired in 2002. As a retirement job he worked at David-Donehower Funeral Home.

He was married to Rosemary Ewals Heit on October 5, 1957 until her death in June 2004. He was active in the Knights of Columbus, KofC Fourth Degree, VFW, American Legion, and Eagles. As a State Officer with the Knights of Columbus, Joe led the original launch of the Tootsie Roll program for people with intellectual disabilities in the state of Minnesota.

Joseph will always be remembered by his sons, Paul of Greenville, WI, Michael of Breckenridge, MN, James (Kim) of Vadnais Heights, MN, and Mark (Nadine) of Rochert, MN; grandchildren, Andrew, Jennifer, and Jamie; and brothers, Jerome (Dottie) of Puyallup, WA, Kenneth (Joyce) of Atlanta, GA, David (Julaine) of Minneapolis, MN, and Richard (Wanda) of Cape Coral, FL.
 He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, and siblings, Mary Gunderson, Frank Heit, and Edward Kuhn.

Joe’s family wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff at Pelican Landing and Hospice of the Red River Valley for their dedication in caring for their dad, grandpa, and brother.

In lieu of flowers, Joe’s family encourages memorials be made in his memory to a charity dear to your heart.