Fr. Hilary Heim (1923-1999)
A truly gifted man, if not a genius, Homer Heim was born in Rural Leavenworth Coounty, Kan., July 11, 1923. This date is, of course, the Feast of St. Benedict. Homer breezed through Hund School in Leavenworth County with the reputation if knowing more than the teacher in the one room school. He attended high school at Immaculata, the Catholic High School in Leavenworth. Again, the courses were of little challenge and he finished in three years all his credits and so he spent his senior year taking courses of his choice.
Homer Heim came to Atchison, entered St. Benedict’s College, made first vows on his birthday, July 11, 1943, did his theology at the Abbey and was ordained May 22, 1949. “From 1949 when he began teaching mathematics at St. Benedict’s College until 1971, when the college merged with Mount St. Scholastica College to become Benedictine College, his field was academics and administration”; a quote from the Abbey death notice. He was Manager of the bookstore, dorm prefect, Dean of Men, Admissions Director and Dean of Studies. Father Hilary received a doctorate in statistics from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.
In 1972 Abbot Thomas Hartman asked him to manage the relationship of the Abbey to the Social Security Administration. In 1973 Abbot Brendan asked him to be the procurator of the community. He took on the job with his usual preciseness, dedication, and thoroughness.
He was a good steward who at the request of Abbot Brendan learned the ins and outs of the stock market, managed the farm interests, took care of the cars, and dispensed cash to the monks.
In 1992 he saw the wisdom of selling some of our bottom Land, now Benedictine Bottoms, and investing the money into an Abbey health care fund. In 1988-89 he was the last chair of a renovation committee that devised the plan to renovate the first and ground floors of the Abbey as an infirmary. That renovation was blessed in October 1989.
Father Hilary stepped out of office in 1994 and worked around the abbey gathering and shelling walnuts and planting trees. He did love and cherish trees. He cleaned up the remains of a fire at the old hay barn north of the Abbey and tore down the old pump house by the east gate along the River Road north of the Abbey plus some our buildings by the old saw mill.
He felt the need to serve the community as a priest in residence at Sts. Peter and Paul, Seneca. A physical exam before he undertook this work revealed a heart problem. Nonetheless he took his first parish assignment outside of weekend supply. The parishioners liked him during his short time there. He died suddenly of a heart attack on March 9.
Father Hilary as a truly brilliant and unselfish man, as interested in trees and baseball as in the stock market and raising soy beans. He traced the ups and downs of “pork bellies” on a daily basis. He loved to visit and his opinions were sought. When he talked in Chapter, people listened. Yes, he is sorely missed.
