Edwin Herman Ernst "Pete" Heiden was born July 30, 1899 as the second child of Ernst "Ernest" and Anna (Knack) Heiden. He was born at the family home at 8925 South Custer Road.

He attended the one-room Fonia School which was located about a mile or so away at 11411 Trost Road through the 8th grade.

On December 8, 1926, Pete married Lela Ella Viets at the St Matthew Lutheran Church in Raisinville Township. Lela was the twin sister of Lila (Viets) Heiden who was married to Pete's cousin, Lester Heiden. The sisters were born on Valentine's Day,  February 14, 1906.

For much of their married life, Pete and Lela lived at 12880 South Custer Road between Dixon and Alford Roads where they raised their 3 children.

Pete worked for 31 years at Consolidated Packaging Company in Monroe, Michigan. He also farmed during those years. During World War II, Lela worked at the Willow Run Bomber plant near Ypsilanti and later was employed by Yeck Manufacturing in Dundee for 8 years.

In 1976, Pete and Lela celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

On July 7, 1977, Pete passed away at Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe; He was 77 years old and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Dundee, Michigan. Lela died on December 12, 2001 at the age of 95 and is also buried in Maple Grove Cemetery.

Lela's obituary states that they had 25 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 6 great, great grandchildren.

Lela and Lila were born to Emil and Ethel (Whitney) McIlrath in Sylvania, Ohio. They were unable to support their children so the girls were adopted before the age of one and raised by their great uncle, Nedelmiah Viets. Their biological siblings included William McIlrath, Marie (McIlrath) Kanavel and Isabelle (McIlrath) Meyer. Click here for a photo.

The name is spelled m c i l r a t h with the i capitalized so it looks like a double ll depending on the font. Also, Lela was one-half hour older than Lila.