Roy Peter Heggenes, age 80, passed away with his family by his side, January 11, 2023, at his home in Clinton after a short battle with cancer.
Roy was born November 30, 1942, in Coupeville, WA to Leif and Ruth Heggenes. He was the third of the five Heggenes boys. Roy’s early life included many adventures on Whidbey Island. He enjoyed trapping a variety of animals, finding squirrels and deer to keep as pets, hunting and fishing, all while trying not to get kicked out of school. Roy attended Langley High School and graduated in 1961. Roy drove a lumber truck for Gus Skarberg during high school which sparked his interest in carpentry. Shortly after high school he attended Edison Technical School in Seattle, WA where he received his certification in carpentry. Moving on from technical school he worked for a couple of construction companies on Whidbey. His first projects were building homes for some of his brothers. First, it was
Lloyd’s house in Clinton and his second project was a cabin for Lloyd and Norm in Mutiny Bay. He began building homes on his own as Roy Heggenes Construction in 1967.
Roy met Joyce Green when they were seniors in high school. They were named “Cupid’s Chosen Couple” that year and married on April 15, 1962. Shortly after, their family started to grow. Roy and Joyce raised three children, Bonnie, Donald, and Sandy. They enjoyed many trips to Bonaparte Lake and trips with the Conover family to Twisp. Not long afterward they purchased and built what became Roy’s favorite place, “The Heggenes Family Cabin”. He cherished this place and loved sharing it with family and friends. He especially enjoyed hunting season where he could spend time with family and friends and cook his famous fried chicken.
Roy and his son, Donald, became business partners in 1990 and formed Heggenes Construction. Together they continued to build many new homes on Whidbey Island before Roy retired in 2002. In retirement, he enjoyed spending time on the farm where he lived his entire life and at his cabin in Twisp, many road trips to casinos and vacations in Hawaii, turning wood bowls, deer and elk hunting trips, salmon fishing trips to Queen Charlotte Islands, and being with his kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Roy was preceded in death by his parents Leif and Ruth Heggenes; his brother, Norman Heggenes; and his nephews, Brian Heggenes and Chris Heggenes. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joyce Heggenes; his three children, Bonnie Heggenes, Donald Heggenes (Nisa), and Sandy Bayha (Dan); his brothers, Lloyd Heggenes (Vivian), Al Heggenes (Mary Jane), Mick Heggenes (Christy) and Norm’s wife, Kathy Heggenes; his six grandchildren, Shelby Vandenberg (Mark), Bayley Heggenes, Hanna Mountford (Carson); Dane
Heggenes, Olivia Peterson (Cody), and Hayden Bayha (Madison); and his eight great grandchildren, Madison, Emma, Cooper, Jeffrey, Eloise, Garret, Emmy, and Dean; along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family.
A celebration of Roy’s life will be Saturday, February 18, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Holmes Harbor Rod and Gun Club. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Whidbey Animal’s Improvement Foundation (WAIF), PO Box 1108, Coupeville, WA, 98239 or donate online at waifanimals.org.
