HARRISON — Raymond A. Heim led a life of service. He spent four years in the Navy, was a retired firefighter and was active in his church.

        Mr. Heim was killed Thursday in a one-vehicle crash on U.S. 50 near Lawrenceburg. His family thinks he may have had a stroke while driving. He was 66.

        Born to Aloysius Raymond and Ottilia Mary Schwemberger Heim in Cincinnati in 1936, Mr. Heim attended St. George School in Corryville and graduated from Central Vocational High School in 1954.

        From 1954 to 1958, he served in the Navy as an aviation mechanic. He was stationed in the Philippines and Hong Kong.

        After his discharge, Mr. Heim returned to Cincinnati.

        In 1959 he joined the Cincinnati Fire Department, where he worked for 29 years. He worked at the District 1 station for 25 of those years, retiring in 1988.

        Also in 1959, Mr. Heim was introduced to his future wife, Patricia Taylor, by his best friend at a dance in Cheviot.

        He told her during the dance that he was 23, ready to settle down and was going to marry her. They married in 1960.

        “He was striking and downright handsome,” said Mrs. Heim, recalling her first impression of Mr. Heim.

        She described him as a big kid at heart.

        “He never, ever complained. They called him "The Gentle Giant' because he was a big man,” said Mrs. Heim.

        The Heims were active in the Bright Christian Church in Bright, Ind. They taught Sunday school to first-graders every third Sunday, took care of the nursery every fourth Sunday night, and helped cook and serve a church dinner every Wednesday night to congregants and community members.

        In retirement, Mr. Heim delivered newspapers for the Register Publications group in Lawrenceburg.

        During the holidays, he helped with deliveries at a florist shop in Okeana, where his daughter Julie Whittmore worked.

        In addition to his wife and daughter Julie, survivors include: two other daughters, Barbara Chetwood of Cedar Grove, Ind., and Christina Ragan of Bright; a son, Timothy, of Show Low, Ariz.; a brother, Joseph of Sharonville; a sister, Dorothea Meyer of Harrison; and seven grandchildren.

        He was preceded in death by a son, Raymond, and a sister, Mary Lou Pribble.

        Visitation will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at the Bright Christian Church, with the funeral following at 2 p.m. The Rev. Mark Fugate will officiate. Graveside military rites will be provided by the American Legion Funeral Detail at the Gibson Cemetery in Bright.

        Memorials: Bright Christian Church, 24457 Stateline Road, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025.

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