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Heilner, Sanford Joseph, 1936-1985

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1936 - 1985

Biographical History

Sanford Joseph Heilner (1936-1985) was an entrepreneur and genealogist.

Sanford Joseph Heilner was born on April 21, 1936, to Sanford and Marion Yancey Heilner. He was raised in Baker, Oregon. In 1956, when he was 19, he was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Stuttgart, Germany. While there he learned to love not only the German people but the German language. As always he learned it perfectly and used it throughout his life. Upon his return from his mission, Sanford completed his college education at Brigham Young University, married Margaret Madsen, had a family, and became successful in his professional life. Around 1977, he decided to teach himself to read Old German script in order to translate over 1000 family letters. He and Margaret visited Germany several times to facilitate this project. Sanford died October 26, 1985, at the age of 49.

Citation:
UPB files, August 2012 (born April 21, 1936; entrepreneur; genealogist; creative as a child; taught himself to read Old German Script; son of Sanford and Marion Heilner; raised in Baker Oregon; attended Brigham Young University; served a mission in Stuggart, Germany; married and had children; translated Heilner family letters; took trips to Germany; verified information in Germany; made contributions to art, music, film, and historical research; died October 26, 1985)

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Sanford Joseph Heilner and Claire Heilner Freedman collection on the Aron Heilner family

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 6721
Scope and Contents Collection contains letters written to brothers Sigmund and Seligmann Heilner, Jewish German immigrants in America, sent from the Heilner family in Germany. Also includes letters sent between Sigmund and Seligmann in America, and between them and their spouses and family members in America. Each handwritten letter is either transcribed from English or translated from German (many in Old German script) to English. Also contains business records, mainly about the Heilner's department store in...
Dates: approximately 1813-2013; Majority of material found within 1850-1920

Filtered By

  • Subject: Businessmen -- Oregon X