The Rev. John Lewis Heyer

The Rev. John Lewis Heyer of Seneca, S.C., passed in peace Saturday with his loving wife by his side. He had retired as pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Norcross, Ga.

Rev. Heyer was born Nov. 4, 1928, in Butler, and was the son of John Walter Heyer and Mary Virginia Hayes Heyer.

He was baptized and confirmed at First English Lutheran Church in Butler. He graduated from Butler High School with the Class of 1944. He then served a short time in the Merchant Marine and then joined the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in Belgium and France as a firefighter.

He graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor in science degree in agronomy in 1954 and graduated from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary with a master of divinity degree in 1962. He was ordained into the Lutheran Church in May 1962.

He served at St. James and Beth Eden Lutheran churches in Newberry, S.C., and at Our Saviors in Greenville, S.C., before being called to St. James in Norcross, Ga., which he served as pastor for 22 years.

He was admired as an avid reader and scholar, an excellent preacher, a compassionate pastor and friend to many, as well as a loving husband, father and grandfather. He and his family often spent summer vacations at Oconee State Park and on Edisto Island.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Sarah Purser Heyer; a sister, Mary Louise Smalt of Savona, N.Y.; a sister, Nancy Hanson in Belchertown, Mass.; his four children, Cynthia Heyer of Auburn, Ga., John Walter Heyer of Athens, Ga., Patricia Heyer Cornwell and her husband, Don, and their children, John and Palmer, Mary Heyer Jones and her husband, Chappell and their children, Laban and Sarah Suzanne.

He is also survived by a large extended family including his sisters-in-law, Jean Patterson of Clemson, and Barbara Krieger and her husband, Robert, of Seneca, S.C.; and a host of loving nephews and nieces.

HEYER — The family of the Rev. John Lewis Heyer, who died Saturday, April 21, 2018, will receive friends from 5 until 7 p.m. Monday at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, Central.Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at University Lutheran Church, Clemson, with burial to follow in Woodland Cemetery, Clemson University.The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made online to the Oconee Hospice of the Foothills at www.ghs.org/healthcareservices/hospice-of-the-foothills, or Novus Way, Lutheran Outdoor Ministries at www.novusway.org.Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or in person at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, Central which is assisting the family or directly to the family home at 515 Benton St., Room 114, Seneca, SC 29672.