Larry J. Heilmann

Larry Joseph Heilmann, 75, of Fargo, ND, died Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at Sanford Hospice House in Fargo.

Larry was born July 31, 1949, in Bismarck, ND, to Edwin and Joyce Heilmann. He spent his early years in Linton, ND, and attended school in Williston and Minot, ND.

Larry graduated from Minot High School in 1967. He attended North Dakota State University in Fargo and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He earned a Master's degree in biochemistry at the University of Montana in Missoula and a PhD in molecular biology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

His professional experience included research in ag chemistry at Oregon State University and staff fellow in the Laboratory of Developmental Pharmacology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1986 he joined the Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Section of USDA-ARS Bioscience Research Laboratory in Fargo as a research geneticist. He did research on methods to control pest insects and research on plant disease as well as teaching biochemistry. During his research career he published 17 scientific papers and made more than 30 presentations at national and international scientific meetings in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

He was an advocate of science and technology education in public schools and helped organize and served as a judge at many regional and state science fairs. He also served as a mentor for many students in the NDSU Governor's School of Science and Math.

An amateur photographer, he enjoyed documenting his scientific and personal travels around North Dakota, the U.S, and Europe. He also enjoyed studying history and was a living encyclopedia of facts and trivia. He was a self-professed bad bowler and a lifelong Minnesota Twins and Vikings fan.

In his retirement years, Larry was involved with the Friends of Theodore Roosevelt organization and loved spending time in the North Dakota Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. He also served on the board of the Dakota Resource Council environmental group, was a member of one of the first Fargo Forum's Readers Board, and a volunteer and judge at local elections.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Joyce Heilmann and brother-in-law, William Hall Jr. He is survived by sisters, Jane Heilmann of Moorhead, MN; Linda Bailey (Jim) of Burnsville, MN; brother, Jim Heilmann (Sherry) of Minot, ND; nieces Kathryn Bailey, Emilie Bailey, Krystie Krews, Rhianna Sundsbak (Jamie); nephew Andy Heilmann and grandniece Lillian Sundsbak and grandnephew Evan Sundsbak.

To further his love of science, Larry bequeathed his body to the University of North Dakota School of Medicine in Grand Forks.

He requested no funeral but a get-together for family and friends at a nearby restaurant is planned for April 2025. The date will be communicated prior to the event.