Jan. 10, 1936 –

Oct. 29, 2011

A memorial service for Joe L. Heard, 75, of Key Largo, Fla., formerly of Climax, will be held at The Key Largo Moose Lodge on Oct. 29, 2011, at 2 p.m.

Mr. Heard was born on Jan. 10, 1936, in Decatur County, and passed away on Oct. 2, 2011, at the Miami, Fla., Veterans Hospital after a long battle with cancer and heart disease.

He graduated from Climax High School in 1954, joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He was honorably discharged in 1957 and moved to Key Largo, where he started his family. He owned Holland Electric North and Phase III Electric and most recently was associated with Frank Conklin and Joe Oberman of Ocean Electric in Key Largo. Joe helped to build Ocean Reef into the beautiful community that it is today. In his retirement he was a faithful bridge tender of Snake Creek Bridge in Islamorada, Fla.

When he wasn’t singing on stage or being the center of attention, he loved spending time at the Key Largo Moose Lodge. He was awarded the top honor in the Loyal Order of Moose, The Pilgrim Degree of Merit.

He is survived by his children, Mitchell Moran (Carmen) and Michael Moran (Susan) and their mother, Mary Moran, and Joyce Heard Yundt (Stuart), Linda Heard Waterman (Simon) and Joey Heard (Michael) and their mother, Beverly Koval Beall, together with his 12 grandchildren, Crystal, Tyler, Robbie, Liana, Karli, Austin, Christina, Baylee, Justin, Isabel, Cale and Marissa; a sister, Mary Boutwell of Climax; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to “Moose 2287,” P.O. Box 1611, Key Largo, FL 33037, or the American Heart Association with a memo line, “Joe Heard Memorial.”