Marvin Victor Heil

Marvin Victor Heil, 83, of Grand Forks ND, passed away at Altru Hospital on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Marvin was born on March 15, 1937 to Pius and Justina Heil (Holzer). He grew up in Selz ND and graduated from Harvey High School in 1955.
Marvin met and married the love of his life Cecilia Heil (Kuntz) on October 19, 1959 at the Little Flower Catholic Church in Rugby ND. They had three children, Connie Heil (deceased), John (Jill) Heil and son John Michael Heil of Littleton CO, Sheila (Jeff) Gerszewski of Fargo ND and son Cody Joseph Gerszewski of New York City and son Tyler John Gerszewski of Sydney Australia.

Marvin worked at the Rugby Creamery for 18 years. He tested and pasteurized cream and made butter for the creamery. When the Rugby Creamery closed, he drove cement truck for Al’s Construction, was a maintenance worker for the Heart of America Medical Center, a night service station attendant at the Hub of America Gas Station, and a grounds keeper for the Rugby Golf Course.

In September of 1991, Marvin and Cecilia moved to Grand Forks to be closer to family. He worked as a night time custodian at the University of North Dakota and retired in 1999. For those that knew Marvin, he wasn’t ready to slow down. He took a final part-time position as a Patient Assistant for Altru until 2013. Marvin was known for being a kind man by all he met. He never judged others and always believed people were meant to be respected regardless of their status or reputation.

Marvin loved being a grandpa and sneaking dollar coins in his grandson’s shoes when they came for a visit. He had loving nicknames for each grandson – Cody was the Codester, John was his JM, and Tyler was Boswich.

Marvin is survived by his wife, two children and three grandchildren, brother Ken (Linda) Heil of Bismarck ND, sister Linda (Steve) Vetter of Selz ND. He was preceded in death by his daughter Connie Heil, his parents Pius and Justina Heil and many aunts and uncles.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 4th at St. Michael's Church in Grand Forks ND, with the burial immediately after the mass at Calvary North Cemetery in Grand Forks.  Visitation will be one hour prior.

To view a video of the service please use this link: https://youtu.be/JZzAps5KzGo