Hefling’s market owner remembered as generous

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — On Feb. 17, John Hefling, the owner of Hefling’s Amish Farm Market, passed away.

The market has been in the community for decades. Susan Hefling, the office manager at the market and John’s daughter, said the business went through several transitions.

“They were all done in an effort to survive,” Susan said.

Susan said growing up, she worked periodically in the store. Her father learned the sausage-making trade from his father.

“He was born in 1937, and he would make sausages after school and on the weekends,” Susan said.

She said small businesses are tough today, as they were back in her dad’s day.

The business was originally called Mt. Clemens Packing Company, and it was built by Susan’s grandfather, Gerald Hefling. He built the building the market is currently at in the early 1950s.

John inherited the business from his mother and father in the 1970s. It started as a wholesale business, dropping off products to restaurants and other shops.

When John inherited the store, things in Michigan began to change.

“No. 1, restaurants weren’t real prompt (at) that time paying on their accounts, and No. 2, that’s when the Eastern Market started sending out trucks, so the middlemen got cut out,” Susan said.

Susan said in the mid-1980s, John and his wife, Norene, decided to switch to retail sales.

“That’s why when you walk into our building, it looks like somebody didn’t put any thought into what the customer might want,” Susan said with a laugh. “It’s just a big refrigerator.”

John and Norene worked with Amish communities in Marlette before adding the name to the store’s title.

“They got permission for it,” Susan said. “Because my mom and dad wanted to do it right. They didn’t want to be exploitative or anything and they didn’t want it just to be a gimmick.”

Currently, the only Amish-raised meat they offer is chicken, but other meats are sourced for how they are raised.

“We want to give folks a healthier choice in how it’s raised, but we still want it to be affordable,” Susan said.

John’s daughter, Tracy Hefling, is the purchaser and product developer at the store. Other family members also work there, including John’s grandchildren.

Susan said John died as the store’s owner and that he never retired.

“I’m sure he’s managing things upstairs really well,” Susan said.

She said her father was a very charitable person.

“He was just a hardworking and generous guy,” Susan said.

John helped other meat-cutting businesses when they were in need.

“It’s what he did,” Susan said. “He really had a passion for the business. He had a passion for meat cutting. He loved it. He felt he was just called to do it.”

According to his obituary, John was a United States Marine during peace time. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, his two daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The picture now in front of the store in remembrance of John was taken around 10 years ago.