Another cyclist fallen

Jeff Bowar and his wife, Virginia (Ginny) Heuer, started bicycling this summer for health reasons, typically trekking 4 miles along Summit Avenue in St. Paul before turning around and heading home to Laurel Avenue.

Bowar did his cycling in the evenings. His 51-year-old wife preferred mornings because traffic was lighter.

Heuer was on her morning ride Saturday when a sport-utility vehicle hit her on Summit near Snelling. Though she was wearing a helmet, she suffered severe head injuries and died seven hours later at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Heuer was the fourth Twin Cities area bicyclist to die in recent months in collisions with motor vehicles. While she was a recreational biker, not a commuter, the recent spate of bicycle fatalities has raised concerns that the situation on the roads is getting trickier as more people turn to biking because of high gas prices.

St. Paul police spokesman Peter Panos said a 39-year-old Minneapolis man had stopped at a stop sign eastbound on a service road that merges onto Summit Avenue. The man accelerated onto Summit and "all of a sudden, she was in front of him," Panos said. The crash occurred about 8:10 a.m.

Bowar said he and his wife always wore helmets, rode in marked bike lanes and obeyed traffic laws. He noted that the bike lane markings in the area where Heuer died could use a fresh coat of paint.

"I've never felt particularly threatened by traffic," Bowar said. "And I know Ginny felt the same way."

Heuer was born and raised in St. Paul and graduated from Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville. She earned degrees in theater arts and biblical studies from Bethel University in Arden Hills, and spent more than two decades producing film and TV commercials as a freelancer. For the past two years, she had produced Target commercials full-time, Bowar said.

'She brought life to a room'

Throughout the years, she sang and performed, most recently in the choir at Roseville Lutheran Church.

"She brought life to a room," said the Rev. David Hanson, a pastor at Roseville Lutheran. "She's one of those beautiful people who have such love of life. It will be quite a loss here."

Bowar met Heuer because of her performing. She was singing and dancing in a traveling USO show that Bowar's friend asked him to attend. Bowar tagged along, saw Bowar and thought, "I have to meet the blonde."

"I thought she was beautiful and I loved her smile, and I wanted to get to know her better," he said.

Soon after their hasty introduction, he picked her up with a camping stove in tow, drove her along the St. Croix River and fixed her breakfast.

Soon they were married. That was 26 years ago.

Heuer went on international missions with fellow church members. She traveled to Slovenia and Norway, where she helped build dormitories for students, lay hardwood floors and varnish windows.

This Saturday she was supposed to leave for Tanzania on the first mission she would co-lead. Along with her husband and others, she was scheduled to deliver school supplies, toys, Bibles, books and hand-cranked flashlights to her church's companion congregation in the African nation.

"She was searching for more meaningful faith work," Hanson said. "Unfortunately, the crazy world we live in, she won't have the chance to do that."

'Ghost bike' set up at site

Bowar said doctors told him his wife suffered severe head trauma in the crash. She never regained consciousness, and died at 2:21 p.m. Saturday, surrounded by family members and friends.

On Sunday evening, local bicyclists set up a "ghost bike," an old bike painted white, at the spot where Heuer was struck.

"I plan to [visit it], not right away, but I plan to still bike that route," Bowar said.

Heuer is survived by her mother, a younger brother, a niece and two nephews. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 W. Roselawn Av, Roseville. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the church, with an hour of visitation beforehand.

"She was extremely loyal to family and friends," Bowar said of his wife. "She loved life."

Chao Xiong • 612-673-4391