BG HEFFELFINGER, EDWIN C. to TAPs

He had a stroke on Dec. 13th and was recovering quite well when he developed complications from aspiration and subsequently pneumonia. 

 There was a very brief service at The Village where he and Tib had lived since June of 2008.  There will be a Military Service at Arlington National Cemetery for both of them at a later date.

The family provided this bio:

 Brigadier General Edwin C. Heffelfinger       8/31/26 -- 12/26/11
Brigadier General Edwin C. Heffelfinger was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvannia, on August 31, 1926. He enlisted in the Army in 1944 and went to Virginia Military Institute. A proud Gator, General Heffelfinger earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida in 1962. His undergraduate degree was from the University of Maryland, and he also completed a management program at Harvard University.

On Valentine's Day in 1948, he married the former Elizabeth A. Pope of Columbus, Georgia. They had two daughters, Elise and Elain, cultivating the E. Heffelfinger brand and confusing every  salesman who called asking for simply "E. Heffelfinger."
 

His military service took his family all around the world.  In 1955, he was assigned to the Finance Corps in the Army. General Heffelfinger continued to rise through the ranks over the years as he served in the Central European Campaign during World War II, and in several campaigns during the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War. He received numerous military decorations, including three Legions of Merit, a Bronze star, a Meritorious Service Medal, two Army Commendation medals, a Vietnam Honor Medal, and many more. 
 

On his birthday in 1975, he retired from the Army and he and Elizabeth, who was known as Tib, decided they'd had enough moving around the globe for a lifetime, and settled in Gainesville, Florida. Forever known as "The General" by all who knew him, General Heffelfinger held various positions, and even tried his hand at building cars for awhile. Eventually he put his love of the Florida Gators to good use, and became the Associate Director for Planning and Business Affairs with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. Then he "retired" several times, though he was always busy with something. Throughout their time in Gainesville, he and Tib were avid Gator fans who went to football and basketball games every season and kept up with all the other sports too. Legend has it that the General had many strategy sessions with the various football and basketball coaches, eventually paying off in the form of national titles.

In January of 2010, General Heffelfinger lost his wife of 62 years after her long struggle with cancer. Ever the eternal optimist with a twinkle in his eye, he was fortunate to find love again in 2011, when he married the former Shirley Bevis. With her he discovered a new fondness for horses and farms, and a daily ritual of sugar-free rootbeer floats. (The fact that a man with a serious sweet tooth had anything sugar-free is nothing short of a pure miracle.)
 

He is survived by his wife, Shirley Heffelfinger; daughters Elise Sloan and Elain Heffelfinger; son-in-law Doug Murphy; three grandchildren: Mara Sloan, Kali Murphy, and Max Murphy;  and numerous wonderful cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws.   ~~Mara Sloan