Helen Rogan Heil

Helen Dorothy Rogan Heil, 95, of Crofton MD passed away on February 8, 2017 after a brief illness.A Venice IL native, she was born November 14, 1921, the daughter of John Emmett Rogan and Katherine Adeline (Luepke) Rogan. She graduated from Venice High School in 1939 and the St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing (East St. Louis, IL) in 1943. Helen joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1944, serving as a 2nd Lt. in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre with the 73rd Evacuation Hospital, Shingbwiyang Burma until 1945.Helen met her husband, the late Charles Francis Heil of Camden NJ, a fighter pilot who flew P-40s and P-47s in the US Army Air Corps with the CBI’s 80th Fighter Group and 88th Fighter Squadron in Myitkina, Burma in September 1944. They married on March 17, 1945 in Burma and honeymooned in Calcutta and Darjeeling India. As was the custom at the time, Helen was required to resign her commission in the Army following her marriage, after which she became a homemaker.  Charles retired from the US Air Force as a Colonel in 1965. Helen and Charles moved to Crofton MD in 1966 and Charles passed away in 1985. Helen also served with the American Red Cross as a volunteer nurse at Kimbrough Army Hospital at Fort Meade MD, earning numerous commendations for her service.Helen was also pre-deceased by her brother, William Rogan, sisters Patricia, Cecelia and Mary Catherine, a daughter Mary Ellen, and a son, Charles Francis Heil Jr. She is survived by her son Michael Lloyd Heil (Col. USAF, ret., PhD) with wife Donna and grandson Ryan of Hinckley OH, and her son Joseph Patrick Heil (CDR USN, ret.) with wife Suzanne and grandsons Joseph P. Heil Jr. and Philip Scott Heil of Manassas VA.The family will receive friends from 2:00 – 4:00 PM on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at the Beall Funeral home, 6512 Crain Highway, Bowie, MD, 20715. A funeral service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.  In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that Memorial donations may be made in Helen’s name to the Women’s Memorial Foundation in Arlington, VA at www.womensmemorial.org.