Bessie Marguerite Wiggins Heisler

Bessie Marguerite Wiggins Heisler, 90 years old, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Community Hospice Center for Caring at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida on May 27, 2018. Mrs. Heisler graduated from Blue Mountain College in 1950 with majors in English and Bible and went on to teach first grade until she retired in 1986. She married Franklin Heisler in 1955 after settling down in Jacksonville, where they raised their two daughters, Cheryl and Susan. She traded in her teaching position for the jobs of cheerleader, sleep-over host, brownie-maker, pen-pal, and all-around best grandma ever. In 2011, she added the title “Mongie” when her first great-grandchild was born. She was an active member of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, where she taught first graders in Sunday School for 40 years. She hosted Sunday dinner every week for her family after church services, and her sweet tea and mashed potatoes were legendary. She supported her family in moments big and small, whether they were near or far.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 27 years, Franklin Lacy Heisler, who died in 1983. She is survived by her two daughters and son-in-laws, Cheryl and Ernest Mattison and Susan and Kendell Harper; her five grandchildren and their spouses, Laci Mattison and Jason Smalley, Carrie and Nate Cass, Stephen Harper, Candace and Michael Carter, and Colette and Nicholas Appelo; and her three great-grandchildren, Skylar, Wyatt, and Cate Cass.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, May 31, 2018 from 10:00AM to 11:00AM. Mrs. Heisler’s life will be honored and celebrated on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 11:00AM Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Chapel.

Please Sign the guestbook at www.hardagegiddensoaklawnchapel.com

HARDAGE-GIDDENS, THE OAKLAWN CHAPEL, 4801 San Jose Blvd is serving the family