Born May 5, 1923, in Chicago, Illinois, Walter S. Heffron, 101, a resident of Sleepy Hollow, Illinois, for over 60 years, died October 28, 2024. Mr. Heffron served three years in the World War II Navy, earning an Ensign commission and becoming a communications officer aboard an escort aircraft carrier on antisubmarine patrol in the Pacific Ocean. He received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago in 1947 and a professional degree in metallurgical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in 1950. After graduation, he was a Technical Advisor at Revere Copper and Brass Company, and then worked for the Yale & Towne Powdered Metal Products Division. He subsequently spent 33 years handling industrial sales in Northern Illinois for Keystone Carbon Company before retiring in 1989. The American Society for Metals awarded him a lifetime membership.

Mr. Heffron took part in the municipal affairs of Sleepy Hollow, playing a major role in drafting its first zoning ordinance and chairing the Zoning Board for 24 years, during which time he also became a member and then chairman of the Dundee Area Intermunicipal Planning Committee. He was dedicated to zoning as an essential element in preserving the character of Sleepy Hollow. His community service included working as an election judge for a number of years and participating, together with his wife, in the Volunteers in Probation of Kane County. In 2013 he was the first person to receive the newly-established Annual Community Service Award from the Village of Sleepy Hollow during a ceremony conducted by the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Heffron and Patricia Ann Lynch were married August 30, 1947. Their marriage was particularly loving and close, spanning 59 years until Patricia died December 6, 2006. She was a pillar of strength and a source of inspiration for him and their family. He will be remembered as a bit of a loner, a private, secular person, devoted to his family and the well-being of Sleepy Hollow. His interests lay in language, current events, and technical matters, and he was fond of family gatherings, music, camping, sailing, and dry gin martinis.

Preceding him in death were his wife Patricia, daughter Elizabeth Romano, parents Daniel and Cora Heffron, brothers Daniel Heffron, Jr. and John Norman Heffron (Carmen Matthews), and sister Corinne McChesney (the late John). He is survived by son Walter Heffron, Jr. (Jane), daughters Ann Heffron and Ellen Heffron, and son-in-law Robert Romano; six grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

As Mr. Heffron had requested, there will be no visitation, funeral, or memorial, and interment will be private. A memorial service will be held next spring. Any donations in his memory may be made to the Community Crisis Center, 37 S Geneva Street, Elgin, IL 60120.