Our family was raised on a fairly large Wisconsin Dairy Farm in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.  This family farm was purchased by my Great Grandfather, passed on to my Grandfather and then to my father.  We all learned how to work at an early age, my grandparents lived with us on the farm and we lived quite a simple life.  Our grandparents played an important role in our lives, we worked daily, shoulder to shoulder with them and they always had some words of inspiration.   Quotes from grandparents

Gertrude (Trudy) M. (Zimmermann) Heuer is a retired librarian from the Brown County, Wisconsin Public Library System.  She retired to Orlando, Florida where she continued to work in her son Ron’s business for several years before devoting her full-time activities to genealogy. A frequent volunteer at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) library in Orlando, she assisted church members and guests in tracing their ancestry and has conducted searches for at least thirty-five separate family histories. She taught herself to read the old German script so she could translate the various church records that LDS had filmed to find people to complete her search.

A published genealogist and accomplished researcher, Trudy has authored two family history books. The first book, published in December 2003, chronicled her maternal Beard ancestors, The Family of Johann Heinrich Buehrt and Hanna Sophia Tessnow, The Buehrt (Beard) Family Who Emigrated From Mecklenburg, Germany and Their Ancestors and Descendants from 1759-2003, published in December 2003. 

Her second book, published in 2008, recorded her paternal Pawlitzki ancestors, and was entitled, Pawlitzki Families from West Prussia who emigrated to Wisconsin and their Descendants,  

Trudy also researched the Heuer family back to the 1700s. She made several trips to Europe while conducting her research, and she contributed significantly to a successful genealogical history on this family that was published in 2001. The Heuer book, entitled, Pioneers of Ahnapee (Algoma, Wisconsin), Johann Friedrich Heuer (1808-1872), His Ancestors, Descendants, and Related Families, was co-authored by Trudy, her daughter, Diane Barbara (Heuer) Piette, and her son, Martin Frederick Heuer. 

Trudy is the mother of seven children, the grandmother of thirty-two children, and great-grandmother of three.

 She resides in Huntsville, Alabama. Communicate with Trudy through her email: gheuer@bellsouth.net.

Diane Barbara (Heuer) Piette spends her free time as a genealogist and researcher and has recently conducted independent searches for several different families and constructed their family trees.

She also collaborated with her mother, Trudy Heuer, in the writing of her two books, The Family of Johann Heinrich Buehrt and Hanna Sophia Tessnow, The Buehrt (Beard) Family Who Emigrated From Mecklenburg, Germany and Their Ancestors and Descendants from 1759-2003, published in December 2003; and Pawlitzki Families from West Prussia who emigrated to Wisconsin and their Descendants published in February 2008.

In May 1981, Diane was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Athens State College, Athens, Alabama. She was accepted into a Logistics Executive Leadership Course, a five-month master’s level study program conducted at Fort Lee, Petersburg, Virginia in 1992. After completing the course, Diane continued her education in the Florida Institute of Technology master’s program from 1992-1993.

Shortly after completing her program at Fort Lee, Virginia, Diane read a newspaper article about genealogy that provided salient and attention-grabbing points regarding research for one’s ancestors and the article discussed a software program – Family Tree Maker. This piqued her interest enough for her to purchase the software and commence research on her paternal (Heuer) side of the family.

On trips to the Family History Center at Salt Lake City, Utah, she worked with her mother, Trudy Heuer on genealogical research. Diane was able to gather information at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the National Archives and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. and the project gained momentum. She continued to contribute over nine years in the research, writing, and publication of the Heuer book.

A federal employee careerist, Diane worked for twenty-eight years as a Logistics Management Specialist for the Department of the Army at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama before her retirement in April 1999.

Diane, the mother of five children, lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband Steve Hermann. She is the Director of Operations for the professional training business that she and Steve started in 1992.
 

Ronald Henry Heuer (Ron) is a travel industry veteran with background in sales, marketing and operations of retail, wholesale, cruise line and attraction related companies.  Currently, Ron is a Senior VP at Thomas Cook North America in Toronto, Canada.  Prior to Thomas Cook, Ron was President of Pleasant Holidays, President of Universal Studios Travel Company, Senior VP of Sales, Universal Studios and Executive Vice President /COO of Funway Holidays Funjet.  Ron has been responsible for managing operational staffs in excess of 800 employees with sales in excess of $400 million in annual sales revenue. 

Ron served in the U.S. Army for 9 years including a tour in Viet Nam on the ground as a company commander.  After serving four years active service Ron served an additional five years as a commander in the National Guard in Wisconsin and Iowa. Ron finished his military service with the rank of  Captain.

Throughout his career, he was a leader in the travel industry creating new and innovative approaches to marketing and distributing products.  USAir Vacations, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Destination Universal and related Services, are just a few of the innovated products and services that Ron initiated and operated.  Ron has been involved in promoting tourism and served with various tour and travel related organizations including serving on the board of directors of USTOA, Chairman of the Oceola St Cloud Convention Visitors Bureau, Chairman of Domestic Travel Division, Orlando, Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau to name a few. 

 Ron assisted in the research for the Heuer book, entitled, Pioneers of Ahnapee (Algoma, Wisconsin), Johann Friedrich Heuer (1808-1872), His Ancestors, Descendants, and Related Families.  He also scanned, reformatted all graphics for the Pawlitzki Families from West Prussia who emigrated to Wisconsin and their Descendants book and complete the pagemaker of this publicaiton.  Ron designed and maintains the www.heuerfamily.com  and the www.familyzimmermann.com website which will be relaunched as www.wisconsingenealogyproject.com

David Arnold Heuer, a 1964 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, was also a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Throughout his thirty-year career with Boeing Aerospace Corporation, he was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility and was subsequently reassigned to Seattle, Washington, Cape Kennedy, Florida, Huntsville, Alabama and Houston, Texas.  As Boeing promoted him from state to state, he also transferred to a National Guard or Army Reserve unit in that new state.   

David’s military awards and decorations included: Legion of Merit; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster (OLC); Army Achievement Medal; Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Lone Star Distinguished Service Medal; Texas Outstanding Service Medal; Senior and Master Parachutist badges.  On 24 May 1991, Brigadier General David A. Heuer was inducted into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia for achievements that warranted his immortalization. 

He was the cohesive force in the initial research and development of the Heuer book, which was conceived and started the year after his diagnosis. Dave spent many long hours inputting personal data into a software program of family files and in creating the book’s outline and format. The book on the Heuer family, Pioneers of Ahnapee (Algoma, Wisconsin), Johann Friedrich Heuer (1808-1872), His Ancestors, Descendants, and Related Families, was dedicated to celebrate the life of David Arnold Heuer.

 On 27 September 1991, David was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Only a year after his diagnosis, David was showing the devastating effects of ALS. However, he continued to attend National Guard drills and on 25 September 1992, gave the keynote address at the National Guard Commanders Conference held at the Texas Military Academy, Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas. After the speech, Major General Charlie Wilson, the Adjutant General of Texas presented the U. S. Army Legion of Merit to David. One month later, on 25 October 1992, David retired from military service, with the rank of Major General (two stars). 

Because of his declining health, David was forced to resign from the Texas Space Commission in 1992. He received a very cordial letter from Governor Ann Richards warmly thanking him for his service to the state. He also resigned from the National Guard Legislative Task Force, having served the National Guard in that capacity since 1978. In March 1993, the National Guard presented David its prestigious Minuteman Award, making him one of only forty-five people to earn the award over its thirty-four-year history. 

On 17 July 1993, the new Addicks National Guard Armory in Houston, Texas was officially opened when David cut the ribbon from his wheelchair.  The facility would later be renamed the Major General David A. Heuer Armory and dedicated in his honor. David was inducted into the Texas Army National Guard Hall of Honor on 6 November 1993 during a ceremony held at Camp Mabry. 

He continued in his position as Boeing’s manager of the Space Station office at the National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA) Space Center in Houston and worked in that capacity until his death on February 5, 1994, at the age of 57.

David and his wife, the former Judy Collins, had four children – three girls and one boy.