Donald Eugene Heerensperger

Donald was born in Houston, Texas, on June 28, 1936, the eldest child of Alfred Adrian Heerensperger and Alberta Anna Hughes.

Donald is survived by his devoted wife of 65 years, Annette Barnes Heerensperger. He is also survived by his four children: Dr. Timothy Heerensperger and his wife, Margaret Lorraine (Gretchen), Stephen Heerensperger and his wife, Wendy, Donna Hotze and her husband, David N. Hotze, Sr., and Debra Heerensperger, sister Mary Lois Baggett and her husband Larry, and brother Leonard Heerensperger and his wife Kathleen.

Donald is also survived by 12 grandchildren: Jonathan Heerensperger, Jennifer Heerensperger, Bridget Moore and her husband Brian, Dr. Emily Navarro and her husband Jaime, Gregory Heerensperger, Laura Hall and her husband Brendan, Ellen Tarango and her husband Fabian, Katie Heerensperger, Ben Heerensperger, David Neill Hotze, Jr., Clare Snow and her husband Thomas, Brendan Hotze, and six great-grandchildren: Genevieve Moore, Eloise Moore, Oliver Moore, Read Navarro, Peter Navarro, and George Hall. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Donald was a 1955 graduate of St. Thomas High School where he was a three-year letterman for the Eagles football team playing quarterback.

In November of that year, while attending the University of St. Thomas in Houston, he was invited to a Sadie Hawkins dance by a beautiful St. Agnes graduate, Annette Barnes. His acceptance of her invitation would lead to many more dates and a lifetime together. On June 25, 1960, Don and Annette were married at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Houston, Texas.

They began their life in Houston, bringing up their four children in the Catholic faith, and became integral members at St. Jerome, where Don was an usher.

Above all else, Don valued his family. His grandchildren remember countless sleepovers sitting in front of the fireplace, Christmas happy hours, and the way he could make even an ordinary day feel like an occasion. Whether it was a perfectly timed joke, one of his Christmas poems with family members as characters, or his unmistakable laugh filling the room, he always made home feel like the best place on earth.

Don never met a stranger and could carry on a conversation with just about anyone. One would say if you asked Don what time it was, he would tell you how a watch works. He found joy in tinkering with model trains, being a handyman for his family, and enjoying the occasional glass of champagne. Or two.

More than anything, Don’s legacy lives on in the traditions he started, the faith he modeled, and the love he poured into his family. His children and grandchildren carry forward his sense of humor, his steadiness, and his unwavering devotion to those he loved.

Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be held at half past eleven o’clock in the morning on Saturday, February 28th, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham, 7809 Shadyvilla Lane in Houston.

A Requiem Mass is to be offered at Noon on Saturday, February 28th, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham, 7809 Shadyvilla Lane in Houston.

Immediately following all are invited to greet the family during a reception following the Requiem Mass.

The Rite of Committal will follow, via an escorted cortege at 2:30pm to Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests memorial contributions in memory of Donald Heerensperger to be directed to St. Thomas High School, 4500 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.