Herbert Christoph Hein, 89, of Longview died November 13, 2006, as the result of an automobile accident near McMinnville, Oregon.

He was born July 10, 1917, in Walla Walla, the son of German Congregational Minister, the Reverend George Hein and Emelia (Keller) Hein.  He graduated from Broadway High School in Seattle and attended the University of Washington architectural program.

Herb married Ethel Louisa Davies on August 12, 1939, in Seattle.  She preceded him in death in 1996.

Herb served as a radio operator in the Army during World War II.  Before forming his own business, he worked in the mail room of the Bon Marché, was a shipbuilder and carpenter, and sold and installed Rusco storm doors.

In 1956, he founded Hein Restaurant Furniture Company in Seattle, designing and manufacturing fine upholstered furniture.  He worked with some of the foremost architects and designers throughout the United States, installing furniture in restaurants and homes along the West Coast and in Hawaii and Alaska.

Upon retirement in 1985, Herb and Ethel moved to Longview where two of her sisters and their husbands lived (the late Nell and Homer Dixon as well as Lynn and Dick Benson with whom Herb maintained a close relationship until the end of his life).

He was an avid fan of all types of athletics.  After retirement, he played golf every chance he could and was immensely proud of shooting his age two times and once hitting a hole-in-one.

He developed a record of his life and times through “The Writings of Herb Hein”, composing these for a course offered by Lower Columbia College Senior Studies Program, “Write Your Life Story”. It was at this class that he met Fay (Welty) Phillips who was to become his second wife on September 25, 1999.

Herb and Fay were married in, and attended, the Cathlamet Congregational United Church of Christ.

He is survived by his wife Fay, and sons Lee and Richard and Richard’s wife Diana.  Also surviving are grandchildren Cameron and Aaron Hein, stepdaughters Laura “Faye” Olason and her husband Tom, and Carla Miller and her husband Eric, stepgrandchildren Matt and Katie Olason and Emma and Dusty Miller; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.  Herb maintained an active interest in and love for his extended family.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Community Home Health and Hospice, P.O. Box 2067, Longview, WA 98632 or the Cathlamet Congregational United Church of Christ, P.O. Box 369, Cathlamet, WA 98612.

The family wishes to thank the Reverend Dan Schnable of the Cathlamet Congregational United Church of Christ for officiating at Herb's memorial service and the Reverend Richard Green of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church for the use of the sanctuary.