Obituaries

Joseph Bean
B: 1939-07-05
D: 2024-03-20
View Details
Bean, Joseph
Leslie Coates
B: 1958-10-10
D: 2024-03-16
View Details
Coates, Leslie
Jennifer Amirault
B: 1979-07-21
D: 2024-03-08
View Details
Amirault, Jennifer
Charlotte Hutt
B: 1943-04-05
D: 2024-03-05
View Details
Hutt, Charlotte
Margaret Scates
B: 1943-08-15
D: 2024-03-04
View Details
Scates, Margaret
Billie Sue Bryant
B: 1956-06-02
D: 2024-03-03
View Details
Bryant, Billie Sue
Mary Ellen Culver
B: 1946-10-01
D: 2024-03-01
View Details
Culver, Mary Ellen
Emily Smith
B: 1943-04-10
D: 2024-02-28
View Details
Smith, Emily
David Mullins
B: 1933-05-30
D: 2024-02-28
View Details
Mullins, David
Barbara Brown
B: 1931-10-21
D: 2024-02-27
View Details
Brown, Barbara
Katheryn Sullivan
B: 1926-03-29
D: 2024-02-25
View Details
Sullivan, Katheryn
Maret Elken
B: 1933-06-09
D: 2024-02-24
View Details
Elken, Maret
Sonya Dunaway
B: 1992-07-04
D: 2024-02-22
View Details
Dunaway, Sonya
Mary Donovan
B: 1954-05-15
D: 2024-02-19
View Details
Donovan, Mary
Richard Daiger
B: 1935-04-17
D: 2024-02-16
View Details
Daiger, Richard
Misty Beauchamp
B: 1956-05-18
D: 2024-02-15
View Details
Beauchamp, Misty
Mildred Self
B: 1941-06-19
D: 2024-02-14
View Details
Self, Mildred
Hilton Hamblin
B: 1935-04-08
D: 2024-02-14
View Details
Hamblin, Hilton
Charles Stevens
B: 1941-06-01
D: 2024-02-13
View Details
Stevens, Charles
John Shropshire
B: 1941-11-14
D: 2024-02-09
View Details
Shropshire, John
Glenda Lurba
B: 1960-07-14
D: 2024-02-08
View Details
Lurba , Glenda

Search

Use the form above to find your loved one. You can search using the name of your loved one, or any family name for current or past services entrusted to our firm.

Click here to view all obituaries
Search Obituaries
10300 Richmond Road
Warsaw, VA 22572
Phone: 804-333-3770
Fax: 804-333-0079

The Memorial Candle Program has been designed to help offset the costs associated with the hosting this Tribute Website in perpetuity. Through the lighting of a memorial candle, your thoughtful gesture will be recorded in the Book of Memories and the proceeds will go directly towards helping ensure that the family and friends of James Heston can continue to memorialize, re-visit, interact with each other and enhance this tribute for future generations.

Thank you.

Cancel
Select Candle
James Heston
In Memory of
James Joseph
Heston
1921 - 2017
Click above to light a memorial candle.

The lighting of a Memorial Candle not only provides a gesture of sympathy and support to the immediate family during their time of need but also provides the gift of extending the Book of Memories for future generations.

Obituary for James Joseph Heston

James Joseph Heston
Jan. 29, 1921 – October 2, 2017

After a long life of service to the country, community and family he loved, James Joseph Heston passed peacefully from this world into the next earlier this week. Known as Jim to his friends and family, he died Monday near his home in the Northern Neck of Virginia following complications from a stroke. He was 96.

A World War II veteran, longtime federal government employee and community volunteer, Jim was recognized by leaders and colleagues for his hard work and dedication on behalf of his fellow Americans. He was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service and Exceptional Civilian Service awards, the highest honors granted civilians by the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force.

Born in Philadelphia in 1921, Jim attended public schools and went on to earn an engineering degree from Temple University. He later completed programs at the Southwestern Institute of Technology in Oklahoma, Department of Defense Computer Institute in Washington, D.C., and Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Jim’s career in public service began with a job at the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia in 1941. Two years later, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and served for the duration of World War II with the Ninth Troop Command in the European Theater of Operations. During his service with the First Allied Airborne Army, he helped the French Resistance fight the Nazi German occupation and collaborationist Vichy régime.

After the war, Jim returned to Philadelphia and worked for the Ordnance Procurement District until 1955, when he was transferred to the Pentagon. Once in Washington, D.C., he worked his way up to deputy chief for logistics policy and procedures at Headquarters, U.S. Air Force.

Jim retired in 1974 to a country home on the Yeocomico River in Virginia, but he still felt the call to serve his community. He accepted the role of county commissioner for Westmoreland County, a position he held for five years until his second retirement.

An active volunteer during his career and retirement, Jim served on a variety of advisory boards and organizations at the state and local level. He was a member of the Virginia Commission on Local Government, Governor’s Economic Development Advisory Council, Governor’s Area Manpower Planning Council, Redistricting Committee for Westmoreland County, Westmoreland County Transportation Safety Commission, Westmoreland County Planning Commission and the Northern Neck Planning District Commission. He served in volunteer and employee roles for the Pentagon Federal Credit Union and the Bank of Lancaster Advisory Board. He also volunteered his time and talent to the Lee Boulevard Heights Citizens Association, Boy Scouts of America and the Westmoreland County Republican Party.

Jim was married for 47 years to the former Marie Evelyn Mitchell, who passed away in 1990. He is survived by his daughter, Evelyn Marie Embry, whose husband Bill passed in 2009; son James Joseph Heston, Jr. and his wife Nancy; and a sister, Helen (Heston) Gheen. Jim has four grandchildren, Stephanie Embry, Grant J. Heston, Megan Embry and James Joseph Heston, III; and three great-grandchildren, Emmalie Knoll, Brock Heston and Molly Heston.

A memorial graveside service will be held 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at Carmel United Methodist Church, Kinsale, VA


In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you remember Jim with a donation to the American Red Cross to assist victims of the recent hurricanes.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of James Joseph Heston, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

Order Flowers
Recently Shared Condolences
Recently Lit Memorial Candles
Recently Shared Stories
Recently Shared Photos