Obituaries

Larry Edward Heesch, 75, residing in Whitewater, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.   Larry was born August 21, 1947 in Inglewood, California. He grew up in sunny southern California where he enjoyed time at the beach riding the waves and playing volleyball.  He was an accomplished amateur photographer, even learning how to develop his own film.  Additionally, Larry enjoyed not only driving sports cars and off-roading, but also maintenance and repair; his prized 1984 Bronco is still running.  His family and friends always will remember his sense of humor.   

After graduating from Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut, California, Larry attended Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado.  He graduated in May 1971 with a business degree. Larry was fortunate to work in a life-long career in finance that melded his expertise in his field with personal job enjoyment and fulfillment.

After moving to Colorado, Larry transferred his love of the beach to love of the mountains.  In the winter he went downhill, cross-country, and telemark skiing. In the warmer months, he enjoyed backpacking, hiking and camping as well as fly fishing for rainbow trout. He became a cycling enthusiast, biking in Colorado, California, and Venezuela. 

He is survived by his mother, Phyllis Heesch; daughter, Ashleigh (Corey) Bruns; granddaughter, Emilie Bruns and grandson, Dean Bruns.  He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Emil and Elsie Heesch.

Celebration of life service will be at Millard Community Covenant Church in Elkhorn, WI on September 19, 2022 at 1:00 pm.  For online condolences and guestbook, please visit: Nitardy Whitewater, WI.

A special thank-you to the staff at Our House who lovingly cared for Larry and to Agrace Hospice for providing contentment and comfort for Larry as he prepared to join his Father in Heaven.

Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

Doris Faith LeGault of Delevan, Wisconsin passed away September 9, 2022.  She was born on December 23, 1931 to Charles and Emma Wiler. 

Doris loved her family, music, teaching, and needlework.  Doris’s giving spirit led her to donating gift boxes to children in need.  Doris had a beautiful voice and loving spirit.

Doris was preceded in death by beloved daughters Colleen and Karla LeGault.  Doris is survived by her siblings Robert (Barbara) Wiler, and Nan Roach, children Pixi Jean LeGault, James (Elizabeth) LeGault, Sean (Norma) LeGault, Loren (Debra) LeGault, Collin LeGault and Bill LeGault.  Loving grandmother of Brande, Jason, Jim, Frank, Ethan, Jacob, Tammy, Jennifer, Jonathon, Jaena, Melissa, Christopher, Juliana, and Gabriella and great-grandmother of 25.   Doris will be greatly missed by her family and all the many friends she made throughout her life. 

Visitation will be September 17, 2022 at Westosha Baptist Church, 35300 Bassett Rd, Twin Lakes, WI at 1:30.  Service to follow at 2:30 with Pastor Jeff Graff officiating.

Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online Condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

WHITEWATER — Shirley Ann Stone Hapka entered into eternal life on Wednesday, September 6, at her home, where she had resided since 1962.

Shirley was born in Whitewater on February 27, 1940 to Ralph and Eleanor (Jacobs) Stone. She graduated from what is now the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a degree in Elementary Education. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Education in 1988.

Shirley married John D. Hapka on July 28, 1962, and moved to their home on Jefferson Street where she lived until her death.

Shirley proudly worked at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library for 30 years, retiring at the age of 80. Shirley served as a local history expert, proudly provided books for the homebound, and worked with volunteers and played a critical role in the library’s used book sales. Prior to her library job, Shirley also worked for the City of Whitewater as an assistant to Wava Jean Nelson, City Clerk. Before joining the city, Shirley worked as a bookkeeper at Winchester True Value Hardware on Main Street.

Faith and community service were extremely important to Shirley. She was a lifelong member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, as well as a member of the Washington School Parents and Teachers organization when her children attended school there. Shirley was also a member of the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library’s book club.

Shirley’s passion was her family. She was a very proud grandma of Melody Brady Martin and Ian Jon Brady, and enthusiastically attended all their musical and sporting events with their grandpa, John. Her happiest moments were when she was interacting with her two great-grandchildren, Maxwell and Amelia Martin.

She is survived by her two children, Kathy Brady and Thomas Hapka, both of Whitewater; son-in-law, Paul Brady of Fort Atkinson; granddaughter, Melody Brady Martin, and her husband, Aaron, and their children, Maxwell and Amelia, of Fort Atkinson; grandson, Ian Brady of Oshkosh; and her sisters, Sharon Hapka of Milwaukee and Sharlene Chapman of Brookfield. She also is survived by many beloved nieces and nephews.

Shirley also is survived by her cherished cats, Bootsie and Packer, as well as her grand-dog, Winston.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her in-laws Angeline and Jon Hapka, husband John; and her beloved brothers-in-law Julius, Robert, Daniel, and Anthony Hapka and George Chapman. Shirley was also preceded in death by generations of beloved cats, including Kitter, Fluffy, Jac, Henrietta, Garf, Fuzzy, Trouble, Roserock, Felix, Vinnie, Smokie, Buddy, Spatz, Rose Rock, and Mama.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to LifeBeyondBrainInjury.org, a fund established for Shirley’s son, Thomas, a brain injury survivor.

A visitation will be held at St. Patrick’s Church on Friday, September 23 from 9:30 – 11 a.m., with a funeral mass to immediately follow.

John 14:1-3

“Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you myself, so that you will be where I am.”

Update: Condolences may be left here.

I-Ning Huang

December 11, 1939 ~ August 30, 2022

I-Ning Huang, beloved husband and father, doting grandfather, respected teacher, wise mentor, and family historian passed away peacefully at the Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading, MA on August 30, 2022.  

He was born on December 11, 1939 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province to Chi-Tsy and Pei-Xiang Huang, the third of four sons.  In 1949, his family fled to Taiwan, eventually settling in Taipei, as his father took a position of confidential secretary to Chiang Ching-Kuo (son of Chiang Kai-Shek), who eventually served as President of Taiwan in 1978.

I-Ning attended the esteemed National Taiwan University, where he studied psychology.  This was followed by compulsory military training.  It was during this time that he fell in love with Hwai-Huey Hsu, a fellow psychology student from NTU.  In 1962, I-Ning and Hwai-Huey got engaged days before he left for graduate study in the US at New Mexico State.  After completing his master’s degree in 1964, the two were reunited when I-Ning joined Hwai-Huey as a fellow graduate student at the University of Texas-Austin.  They married before a judge in Travis county court in Austin that July.  In 1965, they welcomed their first son, Kuang-Yu. 

I-Ning received his PhD in Psychology in 1968.  Although the young family had initially planned to return to Taiwan after getting their degrees in the US, the parents from both the Hsu and Huang families strongly suggested they stay and raise their family in the United States for a better life. This led I-Ning to join the faculty of the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he would continue to teach until his retirement in 2000.

In the following years, two more sons were born:  Kuang-Hao in 1970, and Kuang-Hung in 1973.  I-Ning excelled as a teacher and was quickly promoted to full professor.  He was awarded the W.P. Roseman Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1983.  He was also an active researcher, maintaining a lab (which led to many trips with his young sons to feed the rats) and publishing numerous articles in the area of experimental psychology.  Knowing firsthand the difficulties of being a foreign student, I-Ning helped generations of international students at the university acclimate to life in a small town in Wisconsin, regularly inviting them over for big meals and games over the holidays.  

In 1981, Hwai-Huey passed away after a long bout with cancer.  After this great loss, I-Ning poured himself into raising his three sons, while continually teaching, researching, cooking and upkeeping a household.  Despite his busy schedule, he soon rediscovered love. 

I-Ning was introduced to Joyce Leung through a mutual friend.  Because Joyce worked as a librarian at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, the two actively corresponded through letters for two years.  In 1985, the two married, and Joyce joined I-Ning in Whitewater.  

When the sons left home, I-Ning’s life became filled with tennis and card games with friends, as well as with a long term project of compiling a family tree and translating a family history written by his father.  He and Joyce continued to host international students from the university, and with an influx of young faculty from China and Taiwan, they welcomed these new faculty and their families into their lives as well.

These years were also filled with numerous travel adventures for I-Ning and Joyce.  From the Pyramids of Egypt to sections of the Silk Road in Xinjiang Province in China where they rode camels and ate exquisite grapes, they made annual trips for the next two decades.  They were often invited to visit their extended “family” of international students, who now span the world.  Although partial to taking cruises (which limited the amount of walking required!), I-Ning enjoyed visiting places of historical significance and identifying elements of Chinese culture in non-Chinese parts of the world.

After the births of his grandchildren, I-Ning relished every opportunity to spend time with them.  Although the grandkids all lived in the Chicago area, he would eagerly drop everything and make the two-hour drive to serve as emergency babysitter.  As they got older, weekend visits to Whitewater were filled with card games, fishing, tennis, and lots of the kids’ favorite foods.  He would spoil them in ways unrecognizable to his own sons.

In 2010, I-Ning and Joyce retired to Medford, Massachusetts, where they would enjoy regular Tai Chi classes in Fellsmere Park, great Chinese food and seafood, and the offerings of Boston’s many cultural and educational institutions. And because they lived in a condo, I-Ning would never again have to shovel snow.

I-Ning is survived by his wife, Joyce; his three sons,  Kuang-Yu (Susan), Kuang-Hao (Janice) and Kuang-Hung; and three grandchildren Nicholas Yong-Nien, Maia Yong-Yi and Gabriel Yong-Hao.  

I-Ning will be remembered for his generosity, humility, humor, honesty, and integrity– as someone whose actions spoke louder than his words. 

A private burial and memorial will take place at Ewing Cemetery in Ewing, New Jersey, on September 10th.  In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, the family requests donations be made to UW-Whitewater Foundation and marked for the Huang-Christner Psychology Scholarship. This scholarship will assist a UW-Whitewater Psychology student. Donations can be made by check or online  www.uww.edu/give  by selecting the Huang-Christner Psychology Scholarship. Or mailed to:

UW-Whitewater Foundation, Inc.
800 W Main St
Whitewater, WI 53190