Linda J. (Weigel) Heberling

(News story) Linda J. Heberling, 65, a retired Toledo Public Schools teacher who was dedicated to the success of her special education students, died Feb. 17 in St. Luke's Hospital, Maumee.

She had pneumonia, her husband, Fred Heberling, said.

Mrs. Heberling of Sylvania Township taught in the Toledo school system for 26 years, retiring in 2015. Schools she was assigned over her career included Byrnedale and Glendale-Feilbach. She worked with students who had dyslexia and attention-deficit problems. A daily part of the job was dealing with students who had emotional and behavioral difficulties.

At home she expressed frustration at students not doing their work and uncooperative parents. Her Christian faith - "belief in the Lord," her husband said - helped her get through.

And then a student, and another, would land on the honor roll.

"That happened quite often," her husband said.

"She had an ability to relate to them," her husband said. "She was firm. She was gentle and caring and wanted them to succeed."

She was born March 25, 1954, in Syracuse, N.Y., to Jean and Melvin Weigel. The family settled in the Toledo area in 1967. She was a 1972 graduate of Maumee High School.

She received a bachelor of special education degree in 1976 from the University of Toledo. She taught for a year at Benedict School in Norwalk, Ohio. She later taught nursery school and taught special education students in her home.

She taught in Sunday schools and vacation Bible schools and sang in choirs through the years. A member of Abiding Word Lutheran Church near Bowling Green, Mrs. Heberling and her husband had been members of Resurrection Lutheran Church; Trinity Lutheran in Morenci, Mich., and Zion Lutheran Church in Toledo.

Surviving are her husband, Fred, whom she married July 16, 1977; son, Erik Heberling; brother, Clifford Weigel, and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Abiding Word Lutheran Church, 17202 Mercer Rd., in Wood County's Center Township, with a gathering after 9 a.m. Arrangements are by Reeb Funeral Home, Sylvania.

The family suggests tributes to Abiding Word Lutheran Church.

This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.
Published in The Blade on Feb. 29, 2020

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