W.F. "Pete" Heifner

W.F. "Pete" Heifner, age 86, a life long resident of Charleston, passed away Thursday, February 8, 2007 in a Chattanooga hospital. He was a member of Bellefounte Baptist Church since February of 1943 where he was a former Sunday school teacher and a lay preacher for several years. He was a member of Bradley County Farm Bureau, Bradley Farmers Coop and was inducted into the Bradley County Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2003. Mr. Heifner was the son of the late Hiram C. Heifner and Chassie E. Ruth Heifner and was also preceded in death by his first wife, Velma Louise Jackson Heifner who passed away in 1988. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Everett Heifner and Woodrow Heifner; two sisters, Vieta Cross and Jessie Morgan.

He is survived by his wife, Violet Heifner of Charleston; two sons and daughter-in-law: James Heifner and John and Karen Heifner all of Charleston; four daughters and sons-in-law: Ruth and Charles Delaney of Cleveland, Bertha and Gene Dover of Dalton, Martha and J.W. Burgess of Cleveland, Naomi and Bill Hostler of Titusville, Florida; 21 grandchildren; several step-grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; one sister and brother-in-law: Edith and Roy Boring of Cleveland; several nieces and nephews also survive.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Bellefounte Baptist Church with Pastor Lake Walker officiating. Interment will follow in the Sunset Memorial Gardens with grandsons serving as pallbearers.

His family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday at Fike Funeral Home. The family receive friends from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the church prior to the service.