WILMINGTON — Wallace Massillon “Wally” Heuser Sr., 84, died Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, after a long battle with heart disease. He was born Jan. 14, 1933, in Woodbury, N.J., to Florence Glassal Blanchard Heuser and Paul Ernst Drayton Heuser of Wytheville, Va.
Wally was a fun-loving extrovert who never met a stranger. Exuberance and imagination were his trademarks. Wally owned several successful businesses in Virginia and Tennessee, then in Wilmington and on Pleasure Island. He was a Rotarian, a Jaycee and a Moose brother. He was a U.S. Navy veteran, YMCA volunteer and lifelong Presbyterian. Wally was a standout athlete and played semi-pro football. He raced power boats and organized the largest power boat race in the country at that time. Recent years were spent in Wilmington with family.
Wally was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Ann “Marty” Horne Heuser of Hendersonville, N.C.
Surviving family include his daughter, Wallace Ann Coverdale and Stanley Sholar of Wilmington; son, Wally Heuser Jr. and Anna Ni of Desert Hot Springs, Calif.; grandson, Ryan Coverdale, and his wife, Suzanne Kerns, of Folly Beach, S.C.; granddaughter, Kelton Coverdale, and her husband, Cole Craven, of Wilmington; and beloved great-grandchildren, Fynn and Nora Craven, and namesake, Wallace Mae Coverdale.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Peter Wiegman for exemplary and compassionate care that maximized Wally’s quality of life for many years.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m., Friday, Nov. 24, at the chapel at First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington.
Anyone wishing to do so is invited to make a donation in honor of Wally Heuser to Wilmington Meals on Wheels, who served him faithfully during the last years of his life.
