Heilenman, L. Kathy

L. Kathy Heilenman, 64, passed away on Friday, July 31, 2009, in Iowa City after a lengthy struggle with breast cancer. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the Old Brick Church, 26 E. Market St., Iowa City.

Kathy was born on April 25, 1945, in Louisville, Ky., the daughter of George and Laura (O'Brien) Heilenman. She was a graduate of Eastern High School in Middletown, Ky., and received her doctoral degree in Foreign Language Education from the University of Louisville. Before coming to the University of Iowa in 1989, she taught French at middle school, high school, and post-secondary levels in Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois, and Louisiana. At the UI she held faculty appointments in the Department of French and Italian and the Department of Teaching and Learning. She directed the French language program and taught courses in Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Education, and French language. She was also a founding co-director of Foreign Language Acquisition Research and Education (FLARE) and its doctoral program in Second Language Acquisition.

Kathy's scholarly contributions include serving as lead author of Voila, a first-year college French textbook, now in its fourth edition. Her work also appears in numerous scholarly journals and edited volumes. She served as the president of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French (1978), president of the Text and Academic Authors Association (1994-1995), president of the American Association of University Supervisors, Coordinators, and Directors of Foreign Language Programs (1994-1996), and chair of the Research Special Interest Group of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2000).

She touched directly the lives of the hundreds of students, young scholars, and colleagues who were fortunate enough to work with her, and indirectly the thousands of students who learned French through her textbook. In the past decade alone, she served as director or co-director of 10 dissertations and served on 35 committees for Ph.D., MA, undergraduate Honors, and International Programs students.

When not engaged in her academic activities, Kathy could always be found outdoors with her dogs. She loved her dogs (Bouviers and Border Collies) and the work they shared in several sports, especially herding. Through weekly lessons she generously shared her expertise with novice herding dog owners. Over many years she also competed in, taught, and judged dog obedience and agility. A member and diligent supporter of the North American Working Bouvier Association (NAWBA), Kathy was known and respected by working dog fanciers throughout the world. She served terms as secretary and as president of the organization and could always be depended upon to share knowledge, provide leadership, and shoulder much of the load. Among her many NAWBA friends Kathy will always be remembered as a true leader, a tireless supporter, and an effective teacher not only about our canine partners, but about life itself. She also served the community through her work with 4–H clubs on dog obedience training.

She is survived by Daniel O'Leary, her husband of 30 years; her daughter, Lisa Meyer Graft (Emmett Graft); granddaughter, Lauren Rose; and sisters Diane Heilenman (Harry Johns) and Christina Heilenman.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary, 400 Rolling Dog Ranch Lane, Ovando, Montana, 59854 (www.rollingdogranch.org).

Online condolences and remembrances may be posted at or http://www.uiowa.edu/~flaregra/InMemKathy.html