Dean & Verlaine Heiser

Ever notice a gray and black Honda with some interesting design work cruising around Morningside? It belongs to Dean and Verlaine Heiser and matches their 42-foot RV, which is currently residing in a local storage facility awaiting their next trip. The RV tows the car and has enabled them to explore comfortably all 48 states and Canada from Vancouver to Nova Scotia.

Dean grew up in Carmel, Indiana, a small farming community. After graduating from his 125 student-high school, Dean attended Earlham College, where he "majored in athletics!" and thoroughly enjoyed playing basketball, track and football at the Division III school.

Right after the Korean War Dean was drafted and assigned to use his recreation skills as an Army life guard and basketball player in Oklahoma and Germany. He then entered a banking training program in Indianapolis and four years later he was on his way to California. His career in banking led him to become vice president and branch manager of the Fullerton Fidelity Federal Bank.

Verlaine was raised in Orange County and Chino, graduating from Newport Harbor High School. After a stint at Orange Coast College, Verlaine married and "majored in child development" as the mother of five children, two girls and three boys. After she and her first husband divorced, Verlaine spent twenty years working for the County of Orange Municipal Court where she became the head of the Public Offenses Division. One Thanksgiving a friend asked Verlaine if he might bring a guest to her Thanksgiving dinner. That guest turned out to be Dean! They married about a year later in 1976, producing a blended family of seven children. Today Dean's son and daughter both live in Denver, while Verlaine's children, 11 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren mainly live in southern California.

For recreation Dean enjoys golfing, especially his membership in the Orange County Senior Golf Association, while Verlaine enjoys times with her children and grandchildren. She also enjoys making scrapbooks, more than 50 already, which feature her photographs and chronicle their trips.

A funeral service for Dean & Verlaine will be held Saturday, January 6, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Fairhaven Memorial Park Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Following the funeral service will be a graveside service from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Fairhaven Memorial Park, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705.