Bill Hegerhorst, 82

William "Bill" Hegerhorst, 82, of Bruneau, died Wednesday, July 19, 2006, at his home.

Funeral Services were held Monday, July 24, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Grand View Ward, in Grand View. Burial was held at the Bruneau Cemetery. Arrangements were under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel in Mountain Home, Idaho.

The second son of Heinrick Fredrick and Caroline Ohlendorf Hegerhorst, he was born Aug. 22, 1923, in Reinsen, Germany. The family immigrated to America in 1929 and made their home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Bill received his schooling in Salt Lake, graduated from South High School and attended the LDS Business College.

Bill was among the first 2000 missionaries called after World War II and served in the Northwestern States Mission from 1946 to 1948. He also served two missions with his wife, VaLere, in the Las Vegas Nevada Mission, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was active and served in many different callings in the church.

Bill was employed as a route salesman for the Frito, SE Disturbing Company, and McDonald Chocolate Company. In 1957, he started his own Hegerhorst Candy Distributing business. That did well and the family moved to Alpine, Utah, where he was active as a city councilman, planning and zoning commissioner and other civic activities.

In 1974, the couple decided to sell out and go into the beef and dairy cattle business and bought a ranch in Oxford, Idaho. The prices of beef forced them to go into the dairy business. In 1979, the family moved to Bruneau and increased their dairy herd to 350, and with the help of their two sons, Grant and Mark, have operated the business for 27 years.

Bill always enjoyed the mountains and loved to go camping and hunting with his family, his family noted.

He is survived by: his wife, VaLere Hunt Hegerhorst; six children, Georgene (Paul) Wild, Grant (Cathleen), Mark (Marla), Harold (Wendy), Daniel (Janice), and Hope Elaine (Rick) Jones; 27 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren; four brothers, Fred in Bountiful, Utah, Karl in Spanish Fork, Utah, Ronald in Cascade, Idaho, and Walter in West Jordan, Utah.

He was preceded in death by a grandson.