John David Heinzmann Sr. Obituary
On Friday, April 5, 2024, John "Jack" David Heinzmann, Sr., passed away peacefully at his home in Rockport, Massachusetts. He was 96 years old. Many residents of Rockport knew Jack as the friendly old man with the boyish grin who took daily morning walks on the roads and paths of Pigeon Cove. He also was a member of the Rockport Planning Board for several years and a frequent visitor to the Swap Shop at the Rockport Town Dump.
Jack was born on July 28, 1927, in New Britain, Connecticut, to parents Albert and Edith (Paulsen) Heinzmann. Jack and his younger brother, Richard ("Ricky"), grew up in New Britain and nearby Berlin. During WWII, Jack joined the Navy and served in a construction unit in the Philippines. After the war, he went to the University of Connecticut on the GI Bill and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation, Jack was employed by Raymond Engineering in Middletown, CT, retiring as a vice president. While with the company, he worked on many interesting projects including an image recording device used on the Mariner 4 spacecraft during its 1965 flyby of Mars, when it sent back the first images ever seen of the far side of the red planet.
In 1950, Jack married Jean Hovey Raymond and together they had five lively sons, living first in Middletown and then Berlin, CT. Jack enjoyed doing engineering projects with his boys including building bicycles, a dune buggy, and even a helicopter. As a family, they spent their summers in Rockport, MA, swimming, fishing, and visiting the shops on Bearskin Neck. After Jack's retirement, he and Jean sold their Berlin house and moved to Rockport full-time.
Throughout his life, Jack pursued many hobbies and interests. He loved hiking, especially with his brother-in-law, George Raymond, Sr. Together they explored such far-flung places as the Escalante Canyon in Utah and the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. Jack enjoyed boating and fishing in his Boston Whaler and participated for many years in an annual Rockport fishing tournament with his good friend, Kenny Hodgkins. Jack was an avid vegetable gardener, who was known to bring a saltshaker out to his garden where he would eat tomatoes "fresh on the vine." For over 50 years, Jack flew single-engine planes and co-owned several of them with his friend, Paul Eldridge. Jack often said some of his favorite times were spent in the air, flying his Cessna. He was fascinated by telescopes and built a Springfield mount telescope, even grinding his own mirror. He was a long-time member of Stellafane, a telescope makers' club based in Springfield, VT.
Jack was a generous man who opened his heart and home to family and friends. Most years, dozens of Heinzmann/Raymond Family members gathered at his place for a four-day Thanksgiving reunion and feast, complete with family hikes and marathon show-and-tell sessions. And then when the Rockport Art Association was looking for hosts for visiting musicians and artists, Jack graciously invited some of them to stay with him, year after year. A sketch of Jack napping in his window seat that one such visiting artist made is proudly displayed in Jack's home on the wall next to that same window seat.
Jack was predeceased by his brother, Richard, his wife, Jean, and his fourth son, Willy. He is survived by his other four sons and their families: John David Heinzmann, Jr., and his wife, Terry (Rostov); Richard Kurt Heinzmann and his children, Joshua, Clover, and Rye; Christopher Heinzmann, his wife, Lynne (Harris), and their daughters, Julia and Laura; and Gus Heinzmann and his daughter, Nicole.
A celebration of Jack's life will be held at his home this summer; friends and family will be notified. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Jack's name to Special Olympics, one of his favorite charities: https://support.specialolympics.org.
