A Tribute to Harold Heinlein

May 30, 2012 - From wtae.com

Harold Heinlein and his family built Bon Air Golf Course -- now Moon Golf Club -- in the early 1930s, and he continued to play there regularly into his old age.

"Golf was his life -- inside, outside, it didn't matter. Golf was everything to my dad," Don Heinlein said.

On Sunday, Harold Heinlein suffered a heart attack on the first hole and died playing the sport he loved. He was 93.

"He swung at the ball, fell over and passed on. You couldn't ask for anything more. He would have wanted to do it just that way," Don Heinlein said.

Harold Heinlein was a PGA pro for 50 years. He and his late brother, Herb, ran Bon Air until 2005, when the township bought the golf course and it was renamed.

"Harold gave me my first golf lesson," former WTAE chief meteorologist Joe DeNardo said. "And I used to kid him -- 'You didn't do a very good job.' They were neighbors of mine for 26 years."

Ellen Bolton has a vision of her late father: "I bet he is walking and not even breaking a sweat for 18 holes. And he is with my mother, the love of his life. They were married 67 years."

Heinlein used to play golf four times a week, but he cut back to three this year, Bolton said.

"He was starting to struggle a bit," she said. "And I began to think, I would like it to be quick, and wouldn't it be something if it was on the golf course? And my prayers were answered."