hegnauer.family
hegnauer.family
H0027 The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.
· A life in the study

Keith Donnell Hegnauer

Born at Fergus Falls in 1945 and died at Ettrick in 2014.

born 28 Sep 1945 at Fergus Falls, Otter Tail died 31 Mar 2014 at Ettrick, Trempealeau

From Igis to the Pacific

Keith Donnell Hegnauer was born on 28 September 1945 at Fergus Falls, the seat of Otter Tail County, in west-central Minnesota, the elder son of Leonard Donnell Hegnauer and Phyllis Julianna Van Buren.1–2 Like his father, he carried the middle name Donnell, the maiden name of his grandmother, Lotta Donnell Hegnauer. In April 1950 four-year-old Keith was living at 2414 Bayless Place in St. Paul with his parents and his younger brother (living); four young men rented rooms in the house.3–4 Six months later, on 5 October 1950, his father died at St. Paul, aged thirty-one, and was buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Keith was not yet five.5–6

In October 1968 Keith married in Hennepin County; that marriage ended in divorce in Ramsey County in September 1972.7–8 He later married Mary Lee Hayles, who had been born in 1943. Keith had two daughters (living).9–10

By the 1990s Keith had settled in western Wisconsin, at Blair, a small town in the hills of Trempealeau County, where address indexes list him in 1992 and 2000.11–12 He died at Ettrick, the next village to Blair, on 31 March 2014, aged sixty-eight, and was buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery, where his father lay.2, 13–14 An obituary index of that time, probably of his own obituary, names his wife, Mary Lee, and his brother.10 Mary Lee died in 2022 and was buried at Fort Snelling too.15–16

What we know

Proven

  • Birth at Fergus Falls, 1945
  • Marriage to First wife (living; not named) at Hennepin County, 1968
  • Marriage to Mary Lee Hayles, Sep 1972 and Mar 2014
  • Divorce at Ramsey County, 1972
  • Death at Ettrick, 2014
  • Burial at Fort Snelling, 2014
  • 2 homes, from the census and other records

What's still open

  • Sources. The facts here come from FamilySearch indexes (the Minnesota birth, marriage and divorce indexes, the 1950 census, address indexes and an obituary index) and from Find a Grave (its search listing, and Ancestry's index of the memorial, read 27 Sep 2026).
  • Birth file number. Ancestry's copy of the Minnesota birth index gives the state birth file number, 1945-MN-049680, with both parents' full names; the certificate itself has not been viewed.
  • Washburn High School (probable, a lead). Ancestry's yearbook index lists a Keith Hegnauer, about 16, in the 1961 and 1962 yearbooks of Washburn High School, Minneapolis.
  • Death place (probable). Find a Grave gives Ettrick, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, as the family tree does; Ettrick is the village next to Blair, where he lived.
  • His mother's later name. Find a Grave names his mother Phyllis Julianna Rupp, which supports the old family tree's lead that she remarried, to a Mr.

Sources

Sources 1–2

1 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1945
2 U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s–Current, 1945

Sources 3–4

3 United States, Census, 1950, 1946
4 1950 United States Federal Census, 1946

Sources 5–6

5 Minnesota, Deaths, 1950
6 The Minneapolis Star, 1950

Sources 7–8

7 Minnesota, Marriage Index, 1968
8 Minnesota, Divorce Index, 1946

Sources 9–10

9 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1970
10 United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, 2014

Sources 11–12

11 United States, Residence Database, 1945
12 United States, Public Records, 1945

Sources 13–14

13 Find a Grave, memorial 129309646, 1945
14 Find a Grave Index, 1945

Sources 15–16

15 United States, Obituary Records, 1943
16 Find a Grave, memorial 241933281, 1943

Life in time

28 Sep 1945

Birth , Fergus Falls, Otter Tail, Minnesota, United States

proven Sources 1, 2, 12, 13

How we know

  1. 1945 Birth 28 Sep 1945 · Fergus Falls, Otter Tail · proven

    Minnesota birth index: Otter Tail County (FamilySearch indexes the place as "Ottertail, Otter Tail"). Find a Grave gives Fergus Falls, the county seat (probable).

    The Minnesota birth index gives Keith Donnell Hegnauer, born 28 Sep 1945 in Otter Tail County, son of Leonard Donnell Hegnauer and Phyllis Julianna Van Buren: an index to the state birth record, file 1945-MN-049680 (Ancestry's copy). Find a Grave (index read 27 Sep 2026) gives the same date at Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, and names the same parents; a public-records index of 2000 gives the same date. The town rests on Find a Grave alone and is probable; the certificate has not been seen.

    Sources 1, 2, 12, 13

  2. 1950 Residence Saint Paul, Ramsey · proven

    2414 Bayless Place (dwelling 1), the same house a year before. Son, 4, born about 1946 in Minnesota, never married, in the household of his parents Leonard D. and Phyllis J. Hegnauer, with a younger brother (living) and four roomers.

    FamilySearch's and Ancestry's indexes of the 1950 census at St. Paul name his parents Leonard D. and Phyllis J. Hegnauer; the birth year is computed from his age. The image has not been viewed.

    Sources 3, 4

  3. 1968 Marriage, with First wife (living; not named) 28 Oct 1968 · Hennepin County, Minnesota · proven

    His first marriage. The index gives his birth year as 1935, an error for 1945. The marriage ended in divorce in 1972. His wife is living under the study's rule and is not named.

    The Minnesota marriage index gives Keith D. Hegnauer, married in Hennepin County on 28 Oct 1968. Keith Donnell Hegnauer is the only Keith Hegnauer known in Minnesota, and the divorce index of 1972 names the same couple with his birth year as 1946. The marriage record itself has not been seen.

    Source 7

  4. 1972 Marriage, with Mary Lee Hayles between Sep 1972 and Mar 2014 · proven

    No marriage record has been found. Mary Lee Hayles was the mother of his child born in Hennepin County in 1976, and she is named as his wife in an obituary index, probably of his own obituary (2014). She was Mary Lee Hegnauer at her death in 2022. The marriage followed his divorce of Sep 1972, probably by 1976.

    The Minnesota birth index names Keith Donnell Hegnauer and Mary Lee Hayles as the parents of a child born in 1976; GenealogyBank's index of an obituary, probably Keith's, names Mary Lee Hegnauer as his spouse; and her own obituary index (2022) gives her surname as Hegnauer. No marriage record has been seen, so only the range between his divorce and his death is certain.

    Sources 9, 10, 15

  5. 1972 Divorce 28 Sep 1972 · Ramsey County, Minnesota · proven

    From his first wife (living; not named).

    The Minnesota divorce index gives Keith D. Hegnauer, born 1946, divorced in Ramsey County on 28 Sep 1972, from the wife of the 1968 marriage.

    Source 8

  6. 1992 Residence between Oct 1992 and Nov 2000 · Blair, Trempealeau · proven

    Residence indexes of Oct 1992 (born Sep 1945) and 13 Nov 2000 (born 28 Sep 1945).

    Two commercial address indexes give Keith (D.) Hegnauer at Blair, Wisconsin, one with his exact birth date. They are derivative, but the name and birth date identify him.

    Sources 11, 12

  7. 2014 Death 31 Mar 2014 · Ettrick, Trempealeau · proven

    Aged 68. Ettrick is the village next to Blair, where he lived; the place rests on Find a Grave alone (probable).

    Find a Grave gives Keith Donnell Hegnauer, born 28 Sep 1945 at Fergus Falls, died 31 Mar 2014 at Ettrick, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, son of Leonard Donnell Hegnauer and Phyllis Julianna (Rupp), husband of Mary Lee Hegnauer (index read 27 Sep 2026); FamilySearch's index of the memorial agrees on the date, and an obituary index of about that time names his parents, his wife and his brother. No death certificate has been read, so the place is probable, not proven.

    Sources 2, 10, 13, 14

  8. 2014 Burial after 31 Mar 2014 · Fort Snelling, Hennepin · proven

    Fort Snelling National Cemetery, where his father had been buried in 1950. The burial date has not been read.

    Find a Grave and the Ancestry and FamilySearch indexes of it place his burial in Fort Snelling National Cemetery; the memorial page has not been viewed.

    Sources 2, 13, 14

  • proven

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Places in this life

7 places, in order
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  1. 1 Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County Birth 28 Sep 1945
  2. 2 St. Paul, Ramsey County Residence 1950
  3. 3 Hennepin County, Minnesota Marriage 28 Oct 1968
  4. 4 Ramsey County, Minnesota Divorce 28 Sep 1972
  5. 5 Blair, Trempealeau County Residence between Oct 1992 and Nov 2000
  6. 6 Ettrick, Trempealeau County Death 31 Mar 2014
  7. 7 Fort Snelling, Hennepin County Burial after 31 Mar 2014

Hollow markers are placed approximately, at the town, county or region.

Family

Father Leonard Donnell Hegnauer 1919–1950 Mother Phyllis Julianna Van Buren 1916–2001
This page Keith Donnell Hegnauer 1945–2014
Wife · m. between Sep 1972 and Mar 2014 Mary Lee Hayles 1943–2022 Wife Zana Marie Hammargren c. 1936–2014
Child Living Hegnauer living Child Living Hegnauer living
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Records

Search the archive →
Births and baptisms 2 records · 1945
  • 28 Sep 1945 possible Birth “Keith Donnell Hegnauer” Ottertail, Otter Tail County FamilySearch · O03361
  • 28 Sep 1945 confirmed Birth “Leonard Donnell Hegnauer”, father Ottertail, Otter Tail County FamilySearch · O03362
Marriages 7 records · 1968–1972
  • 28 Oct 1968 confirmed Marriage “Keith D Hegnauer”, groom Hennepin County, Minnesota FamilySearch · O03422
  • 28 Sep 1972 confirmed Divorce “Keith D Hegnauer” Ramsey County, Minnesota FamilySearch · O03408
  • date unknown confirmed Obituary “Leonard Donnell Hegnauer”, father FamilySearch · O03143
  • date unknown confirmed Obituary “Mark D Hegnauer”, other FamilySearch · O03144
  • date unknown confirmed Obituary “Naomi Hegnauer”, other FamilySearch · O03145
  • date unknown confirmed Obituary “Mary Lee Hegnauer”, other FamilySearch · O03146
  • date unknown confirmed Marriage “Keith D Hegnauer”, groom Hennepin County, Minnesota FamilySearch · O03386
Deaths and burials 2 records · 2014
  • 31 Mar 2014 probable Burial “Keith Donnell Hegnauer” Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Fort Snelling Find a Grave · O04016
  • date unknown possible Burial “Keith Donnell Hegnauer” Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis FamilySearch · O03311
Census, land and residence 3 records · 1950–2000
  • 15 Apr 1950 confirmed Census “Keith D Hegnauer” St. Paul, Ramsey County FamilySearch · O02073
  • Oct 1992 confirmed Residence “Keith Hegnauer” Blair, Trempealeau County FamilySearch · O02382
  • 13 Nov 2000 possible Residence “Keith D Hegnauer” Blair, Trempealeau County FamilySearch · O02771
Also cited as evidence: 4 records filed under relatives
The evidence 8 facts with their grades, 17 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Birth 28 Sep 1945 Fergus Falls, Otter Tail, Minnesota, United States proven 1 , 2 , 12 , 13
Residence 1950 Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States proven 3 , 4
Marriage with First wife (living; not named) 28 Oct 1968 Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States proven 7
Marriage with Mary Lee Hayles between Sep 1972 and Mar 2014 proven 9 , 10 , 15
Divorce 28 Sep 1972 Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States proven 8
Residence between Oct 1992 and Nov 2000 Blair, Trempealeau, Wisconsin, United States proven 11 , 12
Death 31 Mar 2014 Ettrick, Trempealeau, Wisconsin, United States proven 2 , 10 , 13 , 14
Burial after 31 Mar 2014 Fort Snelling, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States proven 2 , 13 , 14

Research notes

  • Sources: The facts here come from FamilySearch indexes (the Minnesota birth, marriage and divorce indexes, the 1950 census, address indexes and an obituary index) and from Find a Grave (its search listing, and Ancestry's index of the memorial, read 27 Sep 2026). No record image has been read for him, and his Find a Grave memorial page, which has a biography, has not been viewed.
  • Identity: The records are linked as one man as follows. (1) The Minnesota birth index gives Keith Donnell Hegnauer, born 28 Sep 1945, son of Leonard Donnell Hegnauer and Phyllis Julianna Van Buren.1 (2) In 1950 Keith D., born about 1946, is their son at St. Paul.3 (3) Keith D. Hegnauer married in Hennepin County in 1968 and was divorced in Ramsey County in 1972 (birth years 1935 and 1946 in the two indexes; the first is an indexing error).7, 8 (4) Keith Donnell Hegnauer is the father of two children born in Hennepin County in 1970 and 1976.9 (5) Keith D. Hegnauer, born 28 Sep 1945, lived at Blair, Wisconsin, in 2000.12 (6) Find a Grave gives Keith Donnell Hegnauer, 28 Sep 1945 – 31 Mar 2014.13 (7) An obituary index names Keith Donnell Hegnauer as the son of Leonard Donnell and Phyllis Van Buren Hegnauer and the husband of Mary Lee Hegnauer.10
  • Birth file number: Ancestry's copy of the Minnesota birth index gives the state birth file number, 1945-MN-049680, with both parents' full names; the certificate itself has not been viewed.1
  • Washburn High School (probable, a lead): Ancestry's yearbook index lists a Keith Hegnauer, about 16, in the 1961 and 1962 yearbooks of Washburn High School, Minneapolis.17 The name is rare, the age fits a birth in 1945, and his father's family lived in Minneapolis, where (in Hennepin County) he married in 1968 and his first child was born in 1970. No other Keith Hegnauer is known. But nothing on the entries names his parents, and the pages have not been viewed, so his schooling there is not entered as a fact. (His mother lived at St. Paul in 1950; where the family lived in the 1950s is not yet known.)
  • Birthplace (probable): The birth index gives Otter Tail County; FamilySearch indexes the place as "Ottertail, Otter Tail", which may be its reading of the county or the small city of Ottertail.1 Find a Grave gives Fergus Falls, the county seat, as the family tree does; that is recorded as probable. The certificate would settle the town.2
  • Death place (probable): Find a Grave gives Ettrick, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, as the family tree does; Ettrick is the village next to Blair, where he lived.2 No death record has been read; his Wisconsin death record and the obituary behind the GenealogyBank entry (not yet read) should confirm it.10
  • His mother's later name: Find a Grave names his mother Phyllis Julianna Rupp, which supports the old family tree's lead that she remarried, to a Mr. Rupp, after 1950 (see her profile).2
  • Military service (lead): Burial in Fort Snelling National Cemetery is normally for veterans and their spouses, and his wife was buried there too.13, 16 Keith may have served in the armed forces, probably in the 1960s; the VA's gravesite locator and his obituary are the next checks.
  • Marriages: His first wife is living under the study's rule (born about 1936, no death record read) and is not named. Ancestry's marriage and divorce indexes, read on 27 Sep 2026, give her name. The old family tree attaches to her an obituary index entry of 2014, which has not been read; when it (or another death record) is read, she can be named here. The date of his marriage to Mary Lee Hayles has not been found; it was after his divorce in Sep 1972, and probably before the birth of their daughter in 1976.9
  • Children: Two daughters, born in 1970 and 1976, are living and are not named.9
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

  • Fergus Falls birth and Ettrick death places unsourced (leads)
  • Find a Grave only: d. 31 Mar 2014 Ettrick; bur. Fort Snelling National Cemetery
  • Fergus Falls birth and Ettrick death now probable (Find a Grave index)
  • MN birth index file 1945-MN-049680

Sources

  1. 1

    "Minnesota, Birth Index, 1935–2002," database, FamilySearch, Keith Donnell Hegnauer, born 28 September 1945, Otter Tail County, Minnesota [indexed "Ottertail, Otter Tail"]; father Leonard Donnell Hegnauer; mother Phyllis Julianna Van Buren. FamilySearch record VC56-7Z5; father FamilySearch record VC56-7ZR Also "Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935–2000," Ancestry.com, Keith Donnell Hegnauer, born 28 September 1945, Otter Tail County; registered 1945; father Leonard Donnell Hegnauer; mother Phyllis Julianna Hegnauer; state file number 1945-MN-049680 (record 9909099; index read 27 September 2026).

    In the archive: O03361 , O03362 Ancestry

  2. 2

    "U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s–Current," database, Ancestry.com, Keith Donnell Hegnauer, male, born 28 September 1945, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota; died 31 March 2014, Ettrick, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin; buried Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Fort Snelling, Hennepin County, Minnesota; father Leonard Donnell Hegnauer; mother Phyllis Julianna Rupp; spouse Mary Lee Hegnauer; memorial 129309646 (index read 27 September 2026).

    Ancestry

  3. 3

    "United States, Census, 1950," database, FamilySearch, Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, 15 April 1950: Keith D Hegnauer (born about 1946, Minnesota), son of Leonard D Hegnauer (born about 1920, Minnesota) and Phyllis J Hegnauer (born about 1917, North Dakota), with a brother (living) (index entries; the image has not been viewed). FamilySearch record 6F9Z-Y132; mother FamilySearch record 6F9Z-Y13J; father FamilySearch record 6F9Z-Y13V

    In the archive: O02073 , O02075 , O02076

  4. 4

    "1950 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com, St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, 2414 Bayless Place, dwelling 1: "Keith D Hegnaver" [Hegnauer] (son, white, male, 4, born about 1946, Minnesota; never married; same house a year earlier), in the household of Leonard D. (30) and Phyllis J. (33), with a brother (1; living) and four roomers (record 94526214; index read 27 September 2026; image not read).

    Ancestry

  5. 5

    "Minnesota, Deaths, 1887–2001," database, FamilySearch, Leonard D Hegnauer, died 5 October 1950, Saint Paul, Ramsey County; born 1919, Wells, Minnesota; parents Robert Hegnauer and Lotta Donnell. FamilySearch record HT6H-BL3Z

  6. 6

    [Death notice], The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 7 October 1950, p. 12: "HEGNAUER—Leonard D., 2414 Bayless place, St. Paul", survived by his wife, Phyllis, two sons, his mother, Mrs. Lotta Hegnauer, and a brother [named in error as Richard]; services Monday [9 October] at the Billman chapel; interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery; image, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com/image/187731807). Indexed in "U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index," Ancestry.com (the child garbled as "Leonard D. Keon").

    Ancestry

  7. 7

    "Minnesota, Marriage Index, 1958–2001," database, FamilySearch, Keith D Hegnauer, groom, married 28 October 1968, Hennepin County, Minnesota; his birth year indexed as 1935 [an error for 1945] (index entries; the bride is living under the study's rule and is not named here). FamilySearch record VNS5-7JW; FamilySearch record VF1R-JRK

    In the archive: O03422 , O03386

  8. 8

    "Minnesota, Divorce Index, 1970–1995," database, FamilySearch, Keith D Hegnauer, born 1946, divorced 28 September 1972, Ramsey County, Minnesota (index entry; the wife is living under the study's rule and is not named here). FamilySearch record VKSQ-1DZ

    In the archive: O03408

  9. 9

    "Minnesota, Birth Index, 1935–2002," database, FamilySearch, two entries naming Keith Donnell Hegnauer as the father of a child born in Hennepin County, Minnesota, one in 1970 and one in 1976; the mother of the second is given as Mary Lee Hayles (the children are living and are not named here). FamilySearch record VC6Q-HQ4; FamilySearch record VCP4-NH6 Also "Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935–2000," Ancestry.com, the father's line in the 1970 entry, Keith Donnell Hegnauer, with his spouse (the first wife; not named here) (record 158196415).

  10. 10

    "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages, 1980–2015," database, FamilySearch, index entries from one obituary, probably Keith Donnell Hegnauer's (2014; the principal's entry, the newspaper and the date were not captured): Leonard Donnell Hegnauer, the father, with his wife Phyllis Van Buren Hegnauer and their sons Keith Donnell Hegnauer and a son (living); Mary Lee Hegnauer, the wife of Keith Donnell Hegnauer; and a sister-in-law (living). FamilySearch record QK79-6HMF; Mary Lee FamilySearch record QK7M-H9LT

    In the archive: O03143 , O03144 , O03145 , O03146

  11. 11

    "United States, Residence Database, 1970–2024," database, FamilySearch, Keith Hegnauer, born September 1945, residence Blair, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, October 1992. FamilySearch record 6TYL-XCRR

    In the archive: O02382

  12. 12

    "United States, Public Records, 1970–2009," database, FamilySearch, Keith D Hegnauer, born 28 September 1945, residence Blair, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, 13 November 2000. FamilySearch record KBJC-P6R

    In the archive: O02771

  13. 13

    Find a Grave, memorial 129309646, Keith Donnell Hegnauer (28 Sep 1945 – 31 Mar 2014), Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Fort Snelling, Hennepin County, Minnesota (findagrave.com/memorial/129309646); the search listing was read, the memorial page not viewed.

    In the archive: O04016

  14. 14

    "Find a Grave Index," database, FamilySearch, Keith Donnell Hegnauer, born 28 September 1945, died 31 March 2014, burial Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. FamilySearch record QVGB-XQ2S

    In the archive: O03311

  15. 15

    "United States, Obituary Records, 2014–2023," database, FamilySearch, Mary Lee Hegnauer, born 17 February 1943, died 28 April 2022; obituary 30 April 2022, Altoona, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin (index entry; the obituary itself has not been read). FamilySearch record XMJ6-85K1

    In the archive: O03518

  16. 16

    Find a Grave, memorial 241933281, Mary Lee Hayles Hegnauer (17 Feb 1943 – 28 Apr 2022), Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Fort Snelling, Hennepin County, Minnesota (findagrave.com/memorial/241933281); the search listing was read, the memorial page not viewed.

    In the archive: O04037

  17. 17

    "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900–1999," database with images, Ancestry.com, Keith Hegnauer, estimated age 16, Washburn High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, yearbooks of 1961 (record 574690963, "born about 1945") and 1962 (record 574996300, "born about 1946") (index entries read 27 September 2026; the yearbook pages have not been viewed; nothing on the entries names his parents).

    Ancestry