Michael Heisinger

Dates

Obituary

Michael Heisinger, 72, of Mitchell, SD, died Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Firesteel Healthcare Center in Mitchell after a long illness. A Celebration of Life will be 5-7:00 PM Friday, December 9, at Bittner Funeral Chapel.

Michael Louis Heisinger was born on September 2, 1950, in Parkston, SD, the oldest of 6 children of Louis and Adeline (Mayer) Heisinger. After graduating from O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls in 1968, Mike attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, MN, before deciding to go to school for broadcasting in Denver, CO. In 1971, he entered the Army, and was honorably discharged in ‘74. That same year, he got a job at Martin & Associates (now CHR Solutions) in Mitchell, where he worked as a draftsman (and later a manager) until retiring in 2015 for health reasons. On November 11, 1977, he married Toyvolla (“Toy”) Muhs, with whom he had two children, in addition to her son from a previous marriage. Despite not becoming a priest, “Preacher Mike”—as he was known in some circles—was active at Holy Family Catholic Church for many years, often serving as lector at Saturday evening mass, singing in the choir, and volunteering with the Knights of Columbus. His gift for public speaking also earned him many awards in Toastmasters.

If you ever met Mike, you would remember his booming laugh, radio-ready voice, sense of humor and love of music. He enjoyed “BSing” with friends, as well as a good game of pinochle or cribbage. He loved playing music from his diverse record collection, and also played guitar. His other passion was woodworking, and you could often find him out in his shop building or tinkering with something.

Mike will be missed by his wife of 45 years, Toy; sons, Charles and Eric of Mitchell; daughter, Andrea Heisinger and son-in-law Tobias de Raet of Berlin, Germany; brothers, Jerry (Jan) of Parkston, SD, and Jeffrey (Andrea) of Agoura Hills, CA; sisters, Jean (Perry) Jones of Carroll, NE, Kathy (Gordon) Johnson of Omaha, NE, and Cindy Heisinger of Madison, SD; as well as many other in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Adeline, parents-in-law, Walter and LaVee Muhs, nephew, Justin Muhs, and various aunts and uncles.

Visitation(s)