Marguerite Elizabeth (Self) Heerwald

Funeral Services for Marguerite Elizabeth (Self) Heerwald, 99, Clinton resident will be held 2:00 P.M., Monday, January 16, 2017 in the Meacham Memorial Chapel in the First Baptist Church , officiated by Terrill Mithchell. Burial will conclude in the Clinton Cemetery under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home. Marguerite Elizabeth(Self) Heerwald was born May 16, 1917 to Ora (Bell) and Touten A. Self in Haworth, Oklahoma and passed away on Thursday, January 12, 2017 in her ninth year of care at the United Methodist Healthcare Center in Clinton. Her family moved to Duncan, Oklahoma, in 1922, where she attended school graduating from Duncan High in 1936. She attended East Central University in Ada. Returning to Duncan in 1940, she became an operator for Southwestern Bell Telephone. Marguerite married William John "Bill" Heerwald on November 25, 1943 in Harlingen, Texas, where he was an Army Air Corp flight instructor throughout World War II. She continued working for Southwestern Bell. They lived in Harlingen until his discharge at the end of the war. In 1946, Bill and Marguerite started their family and moved to Clinton, where they joined the First Baptist Church. Their first son William Don was born that year in Frederick, Oklahoma; a second son Gary Paul was born in Clinton in 1951. In the early 1960s, Marguerite returned to work at the Farha Dress Shop in Clinton. She loved retail sales and the commerce on Main Street. The shop was transformed into the Booterie shoe store where she worked in sales and bookkeeping until her retirement in 1982. As a long-time member of the First Baptist Church she served in various capacities, working with children and juniors, and finally in pre-school care. She was an active senior traveling with the Joy Choir under the direction of Terry Brooks. In their retirement, Marguerite and Bill bought a motor home and became active members of the Rollin Okies chapter of the Family Motor Coach Association. They enjoyed spending the winter months in the Harlingen area with friends and relatives throughout the following decades. Her loving husband of 65 years, Bill passed away in January 2009. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother. She is survived by her son William Don "Bill" and wife Katherine Heerwald of Clinton; her son Gary Paul Heerwald of Oklahoma City; grandson James Heerwald his wife Carolyn and daughters Alyssa and Courtney of Clinton; grandson Michael Heerwald and his wife Traci with their daughters Harli and Lily also of Clinton.