Heeres never married and has no children, but he became a father figure of sorts to thousands of Whitehall High School students through 48 years of service as a teacher and coach.

His sports background started in his prep days at Western Michigan Christian High School, where he was part of the school’s first graduating class in 1953 and played basketball for Hall of Fame coach Elmer Walcott. In 1962, Heeres got a teaching job at Whitehall. Heeres served as the Vikings’ athletic director for one year and coached football for 22 years, basketball for 10 years, baseball for 13 years.

He started the softball program at Whitehall and led the program as head coach for 17 years. In 2005, the district renamed their softball field in his honor. In the summer, Heeres worked as the waterfront director at Camp Pendalouan for eight years, then served for 30 years as the director of the swimming school at White Lake Yacht Club.  For over 30 years he led the Whitehall chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

But for many, Heeres greatest impact came in the classroom where he taught the class for which he is best known, Entitled “Self-Discovery” Heeres asked Whitehall seniors to look inside themselves and evaluate who they are and what type of person they want to become.