William MD

Bill was a gentle man who found his calling as a small town doctor in rural Minnesota.
There was a time, not so long ago, when there wasn't as much science as there is today. Back then medical advances and technology simply evolved at a slower pace. It was a time when instinct still ruled the day, when gut feelings and wisdom, earned the hard way, were still fundamental to the practice of medicine. Back in the 50's and 60's a rural physician in Minnesota treated the whole person along with their immediate and extended families. Back then, in a small town, your doctor knew your most intimate challenges and those of your family. This was back when doctors still made house calls, when it was typical for folks to die at home, and the practice of medicine was often more about insightful questions than specific answers. Doctors doctored across a range of maladies and ailments and people just got sick and died, or they got better…it was a more natural way of things.
Helping real people with real problems was natural to Bill. It was his calling and his art. He loved how medicine went soulfully deep, beyond blood tests, biopsies and treatment, and he enjoyed knowing patients on a personal level. He loved learning about their lives, family histories, their heritage and culture, and the immigration of their parents or grandparents. He specifically enjoyed patients from farms and the many smaller towns that surrounded Alexandria. Over time he became a walking historian of who was related to whom. Because he was naturally curious about everything, he dug deep and often observed familial diseases as they passed through generations. Often times he would be invited to hunt ducks and pheasants on local farms, which enriched his life greatly as he felt more and more a part of his adopted community, and he loved it!
He was also a doctor's doctor who thrived on learning from his peers as the pace of medical science rapidly evolved over the decades. The art of medicine filled his soul and he loved to teach by sharing the old ways with younger colleagues, knowing that the basics were still the basics. Over the years he became a mentor and a guide filled with the wisdom that only comes the hard way. Although curious about everything new he was a skeptic of medical fads. He would be just as likely to prescribe a better diet, losing some weight, getting more sleep and exercising as he would the latest pharmaceutical.
Dr. Bill was the steady no nonsense guy you wanted at the ER when you arrived sick or injured at 3 AM. He was the guy you wanted in the delivery room when a mom or baby were in crisis, and he was the guy you wanted to talk with first when you were concerned about someone you loved. He didn't mind late night hospital calls or helping soothe the last moments of life. He was a small town doctor from rural Minnesota.
Bill and the love of his life, Josie, grew up in the heart of Minneapolis. They were city folks. After graduating from the University of MN medical school in 1952, he was called to do his internship at John Hopkins - Baltimore City Hospital. There he learned the hard realities of practicing medicine in a violent and poverty infested city far from the Minnesota he loved.
Following his internship, like most doctors of the time, he was expected to choose some kind of specialty training. But that road was not for Bill or Josie. Bill was committed to "family practice" – treating the entire patient. He loved being a general practitioner. They decided to head way out west to what was then the small town of Alexandria. There he joined 5 older doctors at the Alexandria Clinic. These men became his teachers and mentors, as he would become to the many doctors who followed him. Somehow 60 years passed and he became Old Doc Heegaard… teacher and mentor, the guy who delivered 000's babies, performed 000's of surgeries and loved his adopted town.
In retirement Bill and Josie traveled the world serving multiple stints in Cambodian refugee camps and health clinics in India and the Caribbean.
Bill was raised with the old adage "to whom much is given, much is expected". He understood that practicing medicine was both a calling and a privilege. Moreover, he believed quality medical and dental care are human rights. In the early 90's, long before the Affordable Care Act, he and a group of local visionaries began to attack an issue that had haunted him his entire career. This cadre shared the belief that Alexandria could develop a model "to fill the gap" by uniting local health care providers into a voluntary compact. They believed if everyone contributed a little Alexandria's poor could be serviced with quality care. So, they envisioned the non-profit Alexandria Area Uncompensated Care. He took great pride in seeing this effort come to life, and eventually watch health care reform make the original purpose less and less relevant. Bill loved his work and even in his last days never stopped talking or thinking about medicine.
The only thing Bill loved more than serving patients was his wife Josie (who he met at age 14), his 4 brothers, 4 children and 10 grandchildren and his tangled web of nephews and nieces. Together Bill and Josie harvested years of humble pride as they aged into their late 80's. Josie would say in almost every breath, "Aren't we lucky Bill"? And he would quietly nod or say, "Yes Josie, yes we are"….
Bill and Josie were married for 66 years. They were a remarkable team joined by steadfast faith and commitment to each other and to those around them. It was all underpinned by their own wonderful senses of humor and gentle spirits. Together they loved the changes of the seasons, the dirt of spring planting, thunderstorms, the smell of mowed grass, summer rain, the prairie sky and the wind. They loved and laughed through it all, and together they fed their corner of the world with vibrant energy. Who could ask for more?
If everyone in the world were more like Bill and Josie there would be no racial strife, no poverty, and no one starving on our planet...there truly would be peace on earth. His heart was pure...his faith was strong, and his essence will live on eternally through all who knew him.

Bill is survived by his daughter Jenny (Christopher), son Roger (Cheryl), son Jeff (Lucy) and son Eric (Carreen) and 10 wonderful grandchildren (Nathan, Richard, Will, Jennifer, Alice, Joseph, Chad, Elena, Jason and Ian) who he adored, and his brothers Roger (Edina), David (Wayzata) and Peter (Minneapolis). He was preceded in death by his younger brother John.
Bill served on the Alexandria School Board, as a director of the local Bremer Bank, and numerous other non-profit organizations.
Please join the family for a ceremony celebrating Bill's life. The ceremony will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Alexandria, MN on September 23rd at 11:00 AM with visitation one hour prior. The ceremony will be followed by a Celebration of Life Lunch.

Memorials may be directed to: The Alexandria Schools Educational Foundation, The Knute Nelson Hospice, Alexandria Uncompensated Care and the Emmanuel Episcopal Food Shelf.