Obituary: Vincent Joseph Heidenreich, 77, Of Greenwich

Information via Fred D Knapp & Son Funeral Home

Deacon Vincent Joseph Heidenreich was called home to Our Heavenly Father on Monday, March 22, 2021 and passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones. Son of Dr. H. Vincent and Aniceta Heidenreich, he was born on June 15, 1943 in Pittsburgh, PA.

The oldest of 12, Vince is pre-deceased by his brother John and sister Anita, and survived by his siblings Eileen Smith (Don) of CA, Patricia Sikes of GA, Philip of WV, Richard (Angela) of PA, M. Jean Hartman of PA, Marian Tate of PA, Larry (Sue) of PA, Denny (Denise) of FL and Jim of MT. He is also pre-deceased by his former wife Margaret whom he met while attending Catholic University.

Vince and Margaret started their family life in Pittsburgh, PA and moved to Greenwich, CT in 1978.

As a son of a physician, Vince had a mind for medicine and spent 35 years in the pharmaceutical industry beginning as a sales rep, followed by a position at BBDO on Madison Ave in prescription-drug advertising, and later worked at Bayer in pharmaceutical advertising.

While successful in business, Vince's true calling was with the Roman Catholic Church and in 1990 he was ordained a Deacon for the Diocese of Bridgeport and assigned to his beloved St. Catherine of Siena as pastoral staff.

As a second career, Vince was Director, Religious Education at Notre Dame Parish in Easton, CT and most recently held the position as property manager for St. Catherine.

Vince loved music, especially the popular classics of the 20s and 30s, was a talented organist, and played the accordion with style. In his younger years he enjoyed riding motorcycles in back country Greenwich with his son Vince Jr.

In his later years he relished his River Cruise vacations with Carole. He was known for having the right tool and the right time and could fix almost any broken mechanical or electronic item. Vince also brought the magic of Christmas to life for many children, dressed in his authentic Santa suit.

He is survived by his son, Vincent Heidenreich, Jr., and his wife, Wendy, of Braintree, MA, and his daughter, Beth Santa, and her husband, Devin, of Fairfield, CT. He will be missed by his four loving grandchildren, Victoria and Zachary Heidenreich and Alyssa and Heidi Santa, all of whom he had the privilege of baptizing. Vince also leaves behind his loving companion of several years, Carole Walt.

Services celebrating the life of Deacon Vince Heidenreich will be held on Friday, March 26th at 11 a.m. at Saint Catherine of Siena, 4 Riverside Ave, Riverside CT. Interment will follow in St.Mary's Cemetery, Greenwich. Visitation will be held in the church at Saint Catherine prior to the Funeral Mass from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

To adhere to social distancing requirements the church requests that those attending the funeral pre-register online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094EAFAE2AA4F58-funeral1.

Livestreaming of the service will be available for viewing at events.locallive.tv/events/49219.

Memorial contributions can be made to: Fairfield County House hospice at www.fairfieldcountyhouse.org.

For additional information, please visit www.greenwichfuneralhome.com.