Orva Walker Heissenbuttel turned 91 before passing away October 31 at Woodbury, her home in Montross. Born October 27, 1927 on a Gallia Co. Ohio farm, she began her education in a one room school, graduating valedictorian of her high school class in 1945. While a civil service clerk for the military officer branch of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio, she met Capt. William G. Heissenbuttel. They married August 3, 1947. That began an unusual pairing: farm girl from Ohio and aeronautical engineer from Jersey City, NJ. He delighted in the countryside and cooking at the Walker farm. She was eager to travel to his Air Force assignments: New Mexico, then California, where daughter Iris Elena was born in 1951, and again to Dayton, where daughter Lili Diane was born in 1956. Transfer to the Washington DC area followed, where Orva began studying and collecting antiques, a pursuit that became the cornerstone of her career. Entirely self taught, she began lecturing, exhibiting at antiques shows and writing for newspapers in Prince Georges Co., MD. For thirty years she taught adult education classes in antiques, glassware, and furniture refinishing, inspiring hundreds of students. Orvas journalism amplified her active interest in civic and cultural concerns. Her About Antiques column initiated successful campaigns to save and restore both the Surratt Tavern in Clinton, MD. and the Chesapeake Carousel. From 1971, the Washington Star newspaper published her weekly Antiques and Americana for the entire DC area. Orva organized the American Antique Arts Association in 1971, welcoming anyone who shared her motto: With Knowledge comes Appreciation. The AAAA grew to 18 chapters and 1000 members. She also founded numerous other organizations, including the National Duncan Glass Society and the National Capital Heisey Collectors. Her interest in local history prompted the founding of the Surratt Society, which has hundreds of members who support the Surratt Tavern and its place in Civil War history. Eventually, she and Wm Geo crossed the Potomac to join daughter Iris and family on the Northern Neck. Winters were spent with daughter Lili in Florida. Most of her later years were devoted to grandsons and gardens. She was a Master Gardner, both in Virginia (volunteering at Washingtons Birthplace) and Florida. Orvas husband of 69 years was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014. She leaves behind daughter Iris Heissenbuttel and son-in-law F. Carey Howlett of Montross, VA, daughter Lili Heissenbuttel of Key Largo, FL, and her grandsons Inigo Walker Howlett, Montross, and Owen Trowbridge Howlett and wife Rachel, of New Haven, Connecticut. As a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church she leaves behind a legacy of inclusion, caring, and sharing. A memorial service for Orva W. Heissenbuttel is at noon, Wednesday, November 28 at Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church, Montross VA, 22520. Contributions in her memory may be made to Andrew Chapel UMC.

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