Dale Lawrence Heins passed away on 31 May 2025 at Tavares Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care in Tavares, FL. He is going in search of answers to his genealogy brick walls.
Dale was born at home in River Rouge, MI to Raymond and Verna (Borio) Heins on 25 March 1940.
He was the third of their 5 children. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Wyandotte, MI. When he was about 8 years old the family moved to Taylor Twp. where his father and mother built their new home. The family’s 4th child was born a year or so before the move and the 5th child was born just after the move. Dale developed his work ethic early on with his father as an example. Starting with a paper route, he progressed to packing groceries in a supermarket when his school went to split secessions in his freshmen year.
The family moved to Port Austin, MI in the Thumb Area where Dale finished his last 3 years of high school. Dale spent his last two summers there managing a roller rink where he also developed an interest in electricity and electronics. Upon graduation in 1958, he joined the Navy and completed 20 years of service. After completion of basic training, he was assigned to the Naval Security Group (NSG) and was granted a Top Secret-SCI clearance. Initially working in the administrative field for his first four years; he was ordered to electronics school upon his reenlistment. Still assigned to the NSG, upon completion of the one-year school, he was ordered to a four-month special equipment school with further assignment to Puerto Rico. Additional special equipment schooling was completed during that tour.
During his military career, Dale completed over two and a half years of electronic schooling and two years of junior college. He completed junior college in Bremerton, WA with an AA in Technical Arts-Electronics and an AA in Business Management. On completion of junior college, Dale was assigned to two years exchange duty with the Canadian Forces in British Columbia as senior enlisted in charge of the US Navy attachment. He completed his last tour with NSG at NSG Headquarters, Washington, DC where he served as editor of the NSG monthly Maintenance Bulletin and implemented and managed their worldwide maintenance data collection system. Dale retired with 20 years of service.
While on his initial tour with NSG in Washington, DC Dale met and married Leinis Sue Mason who he divorced in 1969 after 7 years of marriage. While attending Naval Electronics “B” School in Great Lakes, IL he met and married Norma Roberta Emerson. He divorced her in 1983 after 13 years of marriage. Dale had a son and daughter during his first marriage and a son during his second marriage. After Dale’s Navy retirement in 1978, he went to work for Assurance Technology Corporation (ATC) in Carlisle, MA. His TS-SCI clearances continued with his employment there. While working as the companies’ technical writer, he completed 24 individual equipment Navy Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Manuals and one system level O&M manual during his first two years of employment.
He often worked alongside the Government R&D engineers to coordinate electronic maintenance techniques while learning state-of-the-art electronics theory. Dale then transitioned into Logistic Support and program management in a multi-service military equipment development program. Initially he worked under contract to a Naval Special Programs Office to organize and manage logistic support for the four services as well as initial system deployment. Due to the amount of travel involved in support of this project; Dale moved to ATC’s Washington office and established a program support office there. Prior to his move to Washington, DC he met the love of his life, Rita Marie Bedard who was also employed by ATC.
She managed ATC Reproduction subsidiary in Concord, MA. Rita moved to Washington, DC with Dale in. They were married there at the Army Chapel at Ft Belvoir, VA in 1985. Once equipment deployment commenced, he was contracted by the Air Force Special Programs Office to integrate, build, install and maintain this new system for them. The AF systems were installed worldwide. Upon successful completion of the AF contract requirements, Dale and Rita retired in 1997. Dale, age 57 years old, as a Vice President at ATC and Rita, 45 years old, as administrative staff in charge of personnel and payroll at Radian Corporation in Alexandria, VA.
Upon retirement, they sold their house in Virginia and followed their dream. While in the service and working at ATC, Dale developed a love of travel and Rv’ing. Most of his military assignments were in the U.S. but he did spend time in Iceland, Okinawa, and Canada. He traveled to Europe and islands in the Pacific in support of his Air Force contracts as part of their pre-deployment teams. He shared the benefits of this travel with Rita and took her on several trips to Europe. They worked their way through various campers until they had a truck and fifth-wheel trailer for get-a-ways from Washington. With retirement and the sale of their home and much of their belongings, they hit the road and followed the sun for seven years. While on the road, they became residents of Texas to have an address. During their time on the road, they slept in all but two states and most of the Canadian provinces. Often spending summers in Canada and once in Alaska.
In 2004 they decided to get off the road so that they could continue more international travel. They sold their motorhome and moved to The Villages. Once settled in, they began traveling on river and ocean cruises, guided land tours and some free-styling on their own. Dale loved planning all of their travels and later in life felt that he should have been a travel agent. Through the years, they traveled to Europe as far east as the Black Sea, north to the Baltic, south to the Med and across the Pacific to Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and south to New Zealand and Australia.
Early in their RV travels, Dale and Rita became interested in genealogy and their family histories. Starting with some initial information from their aunts and uncles, they were able to travel to places where their ancestors were from for research. After settling in The Villages, Dale became more involved, joining several Special Interest Groups (SIG) of the Villages Genealogy Society (VGS). He later became a Co-coordinator of the French-Canadian and the German SIGs. After four years of Co-coordinating the German SIG; he was asked to join the VGS board and become Coordinator of all of the VGS SIGs. He did this for several years until he began his battle with cancer. While under treatment and after, he continued his research and took many of his ancestral lines back to 9th/10th great-grandparents in the late 1500’s.
Dale is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Rita (Bedard) Heins of Leesburg, FL. His sons, Christopher Gale (Lani) of Davenport, FL, Derrick Heins (Dana) of Ossipee, NH and daughter, Kimberly Gale of Fredericksburg, VA. Grandsons Dominick Gale of Cyprus, Dominic Heins of ME and Teoman Gale of Davenport, FL. Dale was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Verna, his older brother, Raymond, older sister, Barbara and his younger brother, Melvin.
He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
So that Dale can continue his journey after death, he will be cremated and his ashes will be spread to the winds and the sea. No memorial services will be held.