Dirk Rainer Heuser

He died following a long battle with cancer, which he fought with courage and resilience.

Dirk was born on January 29th, 1943 in Berlin, Germany at the height of World War II. He and his parents remained in Germany until November of 1951 when they took a ship to Montreal, Canada looking for a better life for their sons. It was in Montreal that Dirk got his first official “grocery” job working at a local store delivering groceries. Dirk used his first few paychecks to buy his mother her first vacuum cleaner.

When Dirk was 16, his father got a job with Boeing and the family relocated to Bellevue, Washington. Dirk graduated from Sammamish High School in 1962 and married his high school sweetheart, Cindy Nolan in 1966. They lived in the Lake Hills area of Bellevue and had two children, Kimberly and Kevin.

Dirk had a long career in the grocery business. At the age of 16, he started with QFC as a “box boy” and quickly rose through the ranks to become a young manager. During his tenure at QFC, Dirk managed the Lake Hills QFC, Bothell QFC, and the University QFC. Dirk mentored many future leaders at QFC and was instrumental in QFC’s overall success as a prominent grocery store in Washington State. Dirk retired from QFC in 2007 after 48 years with the company. In all of those years, Dirk never took a sick day. His devotion to the company and his work ethic was beyond measure.

After retirement, Dirk filled his time with travel, cars, and family. Dirk crossed some trips off his bucket list by traveling to Germany, Spain, Italy, and many other European countries. He also took many trips to Hawaii and Arizona to enjoy some much needed sun. Dirk owned a 1930 Model A Ford that he restored and cherished. He joined the “Evergreen A’s” Model A club and was a member for 40 years. Dirk was their go-to guy for weekly donuts and taking photos at all of their Model A events. Dirk took his job as the club’s photographer very seriously and would spend hours editing his photos so that they were perfect! Dirk loved spending time with his “Model A guys” and would block out his Tuesdays for this sacred time. He would tell doctors, dentists, and sometimes even family, that he was unavailable on Tuesdays!

Dirk’s family was everything to him. He loved his children and grandchildren and enjoyed spending time and spoiling them. In his most recent years, Dirk and his son Kevin took many trips to Arizona where they attended spring training, went to local car shows, and dined at Dirk’s favorite German restaurant.

Dirk was well known for his generosity, his witty sense of humor, and his unconditional love and support for his family.

Dirk is survived by his children, Kimberly Heuser (Teri Esser), Kevin Heuser (Adrienne), his grandchildren Jillianna Heuser (Matt Russell), Cammilyn Heuser, Spencer Speidel, Landon Speidel, and his brother Peter Heuser (Nyra).

Dirk was proceeded in death by his parents Peter and Liselotta Heuser.