Former newspaper reporter, communications professional Richard Heine dies at 73

Richard Craig Heine, 73, of Delavan, died on Monday, Jan. 30, at Vintage on the Ponds in Delavan. 

A native of New London, he was the son of the late Elmer and Rocelia Heine. Heine was raised in Milwaukee and graduated in 1967 from Milwaukee Lutheran High School. Following high school, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of Sergeant E5 and served in Seoul, South Korea.

Following his time in the service, Heine attended Milwaukee Area Technical College and later attended UW-Milwaukee, where he earned a degree in communications and met his future wife, Karen. The couple married in 1975 and had two children together.

Heine became a small-town newspaper reporter and photographer before transitioning to corporate communications at Rexnord Corporation. Heine later moved onto a role in employee communications and promotions at the Milwaukee Journal. In 1989, he and his family moved to Delavan and Heine joined Sta-Rite as corporate communications director. He left Sta-Rite when it was sold, and ended his career helping people hone their employability skills at the Walworth County Job Center, retiring in 2016.

» Read more

Wisconsin Newspaper Association