Philip E. Heide, ceo and president of Henry Heide, Inc., manufacturer of Jujubes and Jujyfruits, passed away Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, N.Y. after a long battle with melanoma. He was 75.
“He will be remembered for his charm, storytelling and sense of humor, as well as his love of Vermont, the New York Giants, and, above all, his family,” reads Heide’s obituary, which appeared on the New York Times website. “We will miss him dearly.”
Heide, who led the 120-year-old company founded by his great-grandfather, was born in New York City in 1941, the son of Andrew and Eleanor Heide. He attended Allen-Stevenson School in New York and Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island.
Upon his graduation from Portsmouth, Heide attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Heide also served in the U.S. Army, receiving an honorable discharge.
Heide joined his family’s business in 1964, serving in a variety of capacities over the next 30 years. He became executive vice president after working as sales manager for the bakery and marketing and merchandising manager. He also counted discovering gummi bears and bringing them to the North American market among his accomplishments.
In 1989, the National Food Brokers Association honored Heide with its Pioneer Award. He was inducted into the National Confectionery Sales Association’s Candy Hall of Fame two years later. Heide has also served as director of the NCSA and the National Candy Brokers Association, and he was a member of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners Association.
Heide remained with the company until it was sold to The Hershey Food Corp. in 1995.
Heide was preceded in death by his parents, daughters Christina and Penelope, and a son, Peter. He is survived by son Andrew William Heide of New York City; daughter Elizabeth Heide Fessenden of Greenwich, Conn.; son-in-law Jamie Fessenden; daughter-in-law Erin Maxon; and grandchildren Ella, Aidan, Ava and Cooper.
In accordance with Heide’s wishes, there will be no formal funeral services. He requested his immediate family hold a private celebration of life in Vermont.
A memorial fund has been set up in Heide’s name at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital in New York. Donations collected in Heide’s name will help fund melanoma research at the cancer center.
