Butler mourns loss of longtime tree nursery head Heasley
Linda Cranmer had three words to describe her father, Lou Heasley: “bigger than life.” Both figuratively and physically.
“He was big and strong and hardworking,” Cranmer said. “Whenever you met him, he was usually bigger than life. He had a big handshake. From farming, he was very muscular. He put himself into everything that he did.”
Heasley, who died on Feb. 21 at the age of 89, left behind a legacy of decades heading his family business, Heasley’s Nurseries — a tree nursery located on Freeport Road in Summit Township. At the time of his passing, he was the president and owner.
According to Cranmer, Heasley’s father, Lou Sr., first brought him into the family business, which was founded in 1934. Lou Jr. became dedicated to his work, as evidenced by his memberships in the Pennsylvania Nursery Association and the Butler County Farm Bureau.
“Growing trees has been a large part of his life,” Cranmer said.
Despite his big and strong nature — as well as his love for ATVs, hunting, and tractors — Cranmer said that Heasley had a softer side.
“He loved animals,” Cranmer said. “We used to have a pet deer that he found. The mother was killed on (Route) 356. He brought in this fawn and we raised it in our house.”
Aside from his trees, it was through his love of tractors that he made a permanent mark on the land of Butler County — literally. If you drive along Route 356, you may be able to spot his old John Deere and International tractors lying in a ditch alongside his friend’s Ford tractor.
The reason? John placed his John Deere tractor there as a “memorial” after it became unusable. The impromptu art installation kept growing, as his friends Carl Jones and Russ Parker added their own tractors.
“After one of Lou’s John Deere tractors got old and needed repairs, he decided to make it a memorial by placing it in a ditch,” Cranmer said. “Lou found an International tractor and placed it so the John Deere was pulling the International tractor. Not to be outdone, another friend who had an old Ford donated it to the tractor collection. Driving along 356, you can observe the tractors in the ditch.”
Although he may be gone, Cranmer says that the tree nursery business with the family name on it will go on as before.
