Margaret "Tat" R. Heintz

Margaret Tat Heintz, 96, of Mt. Pleasant passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, Saturday, May 21, 2016, at Rosebush Manor in Rosebush. A Funeral Mass for Tat will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Thomas J. McNamara as celebrant. A luncheon will immediately follow at Sacred Heart Parish Hall. The family will receive friends at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home on Tuesday from 3-8 p.m. with the Vigil beginning at 7:30 p.m. Visitation continues at the church on Wednesday one hour prior to Mass. Tat was born September 18, 1919, in Thief River Falls, MN, daughter of the late Raymond W. and Bertha O. (Thompson) Munt. When Tat was four months old, her father died from the flu epidemic. At the age of six, her mother married Raymonds brother, Ralph Butch Munt. Butch raised her as his own daughter. Tat was a member of the first class ever to attend St. Bernards Catholic School in Thief River Falls. After completing the 8th grade, she continued at Lincoln High School where she graduated in 1937 and enrolled in Northwest Institute of Medical Technologies. She graduated in 1939 as a Registered Medical and X-Ray Technologist. A short time later she moved to Mt. Pleasant on an internship at Bronstetter-McArthur-Strange Hospital, located on Mosher and Court Streets. There she would meet her future husband, Robert Heintz. The couple married on April 6, 1942, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. She was a longtime member of Sacred Heart Parish where she was very active in the school. She was a member of the Home and School Board, past-president of the Junior Altar Society, and instrumental in founding Sacred Heart Academy Foundation, serving as president for 19 years. She was a founding member of Right to Life of Michigan and was elected as a County Commissioner for Isabella County, serving two terms, all while continuing her efforts with Right to Life. Working 14 hour days was common to her. When she finally stepped down from the Right to Life Board, there were over 330,000 members in Michigan. Right to Life was a huge part of her life. However, in spite of the countless hours she volunteered for that and other organizations, as well as being a board member of Eight Cap for 37 years, nothing was more important to Tat than her faith and her family. She was a devout Catholic, and a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Tat is survived by eight children, Rochelle (James) Flake of Fenton, Bob (Connie) Heintz of DeWitt, Jeff (Jackie) Heintz, Mike (Margo) Heintz, and Joe (Linda) Heintz, all of Mt. Pleasant, Kathleen Fountain of Grand Ledge, Daniel (Cheryl) Heintz of Grand Rapids, and Pat (Leslee) Heintz of Traverse City; 30 grandchildren; 45 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandson; two sisters-in-law, Eunice Munt of Thief River Falls, MN and Ann Munt of Minneapolis, MN; two brothers-in-law, Jack Carroll of Houston, TX and Dave Heintz of Austin, TX; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Raymond and Bertha Munt; step-father, Ralph Butch Munt; husband, Robert in 1972; granddaughter Katie Heintz; and siblings, John, William, and George Munt, Ralph Butch Munt Jr., and Genevieve Jose. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tat Heintz Scholarship Fund through Sacred Heart Academy Foundation, Life Choices (formerly, Central Michigan Pregnancy Services), or Rosebush Manor. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. The Heintz family extends a special thank you to Jessica and staff at Rosebush Manor for the wonderful care that was given to Tat.