Joseph Roy Heggestad

Joseph (Joe) Roy Heggestad was born on September 21, 1939, to Roy and Gertrude (Ingold) Heggestad in Madison, Wisconsin. Losing his father at a young age, Joe was an only child to a single mother working multiple jobs in the Madison area for most of his childhood, spending summers with his favorite uncle Freddie, on a farm between Monroe and New Glarus, Wisconsin.

Joe was an adventurous and mischievous youth, enjoying every opportunity to keep his mom on her toes, graduating from Central High School, Class of 1957. After high school, Joe enlisted in the Army for two years and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas before enrolling in UW Madison, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.

In 1966, Joe married Edith (Trienen) and promptly moved to upstate New York where he worked for Safeway Grocery as an inventory specialist. In 1969 Joe had his first child, Fred; and in 1972 his second child, Judy.

In 1974, the Madison house he was raised in became the house where his children grew up. Joe began his career with the Regent Street Food Market, being quoted as saying he made many friends and not a whole lot of money.

In 1985 Joe became divorced from Edith. In 1990, Joe was married to Sharon (Dey) in the Regent neighborhood park and gained two stepchildren (Rich and Katie). Sharon was good for Joe in many ways, including finding love for travel and dancing!

Joe stayed at the little store for more than 20 years, becoming a neighborhood icon and receiving the honor of “Joe Heggestad Day” on January 25, 1995, by the City Mayor during his retirement party. After retiring from the Regent Food Market, he surged into his motorcycle hobby wholeheartedly until his last ride at 82 years old!

Since 1995 Joe has traveled the world with friends and family while he continued his favorite hobbies of riding motorcycles and dancing. While losing Sharon to an illness in 2000 was a major hit to his heart, Joe kept motorcycling and dancing around the world for as long as he could, making many more friends and achieving his goal of visiting all 50 state capitols with the companionship of loved ones.

Joe moved into senior living apartments in Middleton, before passing away on March 3, 2025, at 85 years old. Joe is survived by his children, Fred (Christi) Heggestad of Prescott Valley, AZ., Judy (Pete) Mehn of Oshkosh, WI., Rich (Melinda) Dey of Green Bay, WI., Kathryn Dey of South Carolina, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

At Joe’s wishes, his body was donated to the UW Madison Medical School. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, March 29th at 10:00am, at Cress Funeral Home located at 3610 Speedway Road in Madison, WI. 53705. At Joe’s request, donations can be made to your favorite party in a way that increases your happiness, or to your local VFW where he danced regularly.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service

3610 Speedway Road, Madison

(608) 238-3434