Perry Heim Gresh ’23

HEIM LEFT the ranks of the Class of 1923 on July 28,1989, in Woodburn, Oreg. He was born in Norristown, Penn., where his father had a manufacturing business. Heim came to Princeton in Sept. 1919 from both the Hill School and Lawrenceville. On our campus, Heim was on the track squad, belonged to Triangle Club, and ate at Cottage Club. After graduation, Heim settled in the Philadelphia area and became a credit manager for the Universal Credit Co., financing Ford cars. He later was president of the Ogontz Motor Co.

Heim and Julia (Mrs. John Wister Fox) were married in Valley Forge, Penn., on Aug. 1, 1930. In WWII, he served in the Navy with the rank of lieutenant commander, and after brief tours of duty as a procurement officer in Philadelphia and New Orleans, Heim was ordered to the Amphibious Training Base in San Diego to prepare for combat in the South Pacific. His service in the Asian Theater of Operations included the battle for Okinawa. On the beach at Ie Shima he met his classmate Jack Jefferies. Heim was wounded on May 23, 1945, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

After WWlI, Heim helped form the Gresh Advertising Agency; he served as a partner until he retired, in 1962. Julia died in Jan. 1953, and in 1954, he married Cynthia Stockton, who died in 1978. The Greshes lived in Hawaii for ten years before they settled in Woodburn, 60 miles south of Mt. St. Helens. In 1980, Heim married Margaret Stern, of Woodburn. His stepson John W. Fox died in 1976, and a brother, William K. '14, died in Dec. 1979. He is survived by his widow and his son, W. Perry Gresh (Box 385, Bryn Mawr PA 19010).

The Class of 1923