The tenth child and fifth son of William Carl and Mary (Rambow) Heiden was born on Monday, July 2, 1917. William Frank was the third Heiden in the family to bear that first name in addition to his father, William Carl., and a cousin, who was named William Leo. Some people would mistakenly assume that he was a Jr but, since he had a different middle name, that was not the case. A few people also called him Jack.

William Frank was born and raised on the family farm and lived all but 8 years of his life at 8861 Dixon Road. He attended nearby Bridge School through the 8th grade.

On Tuesday, December 6, 1938, he married Helen Jennie Henning from Britton, Michigan. They were married in Angola, Indiana. William Frank and Helen had seven children.

In addition to farming all his life, William worked at various times at Tecumseh Products, Wolverine Fabricating in Dundee and La-Z-Boy Chair Co. in Monroe.

The only years spent away from the home farm where when he rented the Shucik farm at 8420 Dixon Road for 8 years from 1953 to 1961. He and Helen purchased the family farm from his father and moved back there in February of that year.

William enjoyed gardening, playing cards with relatives and friends and traveling. He and Helen took a lot of pride and pleasure in their children and grandchildren.

Helen was born on Tuesday, December 9, 1919, in the family home near Britton and graduated from Britton High School in 1937. In addition to raising the children, she worked for 12 years as a salesclerk at the hardware store in Ida. She also enjoys playing cards, working cross word puzzles and traveling.

On Sunday, December 21, 2008, William Frank Heiden died at the age of 91 in Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe. He is buried at the St Matthew Lutheran Church cemetery in Raisinville Township, Monroe County, Michigan.

Helen passed away on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 and is also buried at the St Matthew Lutheran Church cemetery. She was 96 years of age at the time of her death.

 
Wm and Helen had 20 grandchildren.

Wm Carl (46) and Mary (42) lived at the same farm with children Carl (19), Leo (17), Lester (15), Hilda (13), Mildred (11), Helma (9), Arthur (7), Marie (5), Wm Frank (2) and Helen Esther (<1).
This census shows Wm Carl (56), Mary (59), Carl (29), Marie (15), Wm Frank (12), Helen Esther (10), Wilma (7) and Norma Jean (2) living at the home farm. Wm Carl is shown as a carpenter.

Note:Norma was the last child and the first one born in a hospital. Her birth state is listed as Ohio.

Living at the home farm were Wm Carl (56), Mary (52), Marie (24), Helen Esther (20), Wilma (17) and Norma (12). Wm Frank (22) and his wife, Helen (20) also lived their with their first child, Carol (1).

Following the death of Mildred in 1939 at the age of 31, her husband John Eipperle and daughter Sally came to live in the house also.

Wm Carl and Mary are both listed as having completed the 8th grade. Marie was a barmaid who made $364 in the previous year. Helen Esther was an unpaid family house worker. John Eipperle who had completed 8th grad was a truck driver making an annual salary of $1,000. Wm Frank who also completed 8th grade was "working on his own account" and made $480 in 1939.
On this census, Wm Carl was listed as William Heiden, Sr. (76). He and Mary (72) were living on the home farm with daughters Helen Esther (30) and Norma (22). Helen Esther was listed as a houseworker in a private home while Norma worked as a typist in an abstract office.

At this time, Wm Frank (32), his wife Helen (30) and their children Carol (11), Janice (9), James (7), Dianne (5) and Richard Carl (3) also lived at 8861 Dixon Road.

Note: They would move a short distance away to 8420 Dixon to rent a farm before returning to 8861 when they purchased the farm from Wm Carl in 1960.

There were 3 William Heidens in the early generations. To differentiate among them, we will include their middle names. William Carl Heiden (left) to avoid confusion with his youngest son, William Frank Heiden (right). (They were sometimes mistakenly designated as Sr. and Jr.) William Leo Heiden is their nephew and cousin, respectively. He was a son of Heinrich Heiden.

There were two Helen Heidens in the early generations. One, Helen Esther Heiden was the daughter of William Carl Heiden. She was often known as "sister Helen". The other is Helen (Henning) Heiden who was the wife of William Frank Heiden.

There are three Carol Jean Heidens in the early generations. One was the daughter of Howard Heiden who died at birth. Another is Carol Jean (Heiden) Toburen, daughter of William Frank Heiden and the third was Carol Jean (Boos) Heiden (left), the wife of Harold Heiden.

There are two Richard Heidens in the early generations. Richard Lee was the son of Herman John Heiden. Richard Carl is the son of William Frank Heiden.

Wm Frank Heiden * * *