David Eugene Hefler

WELLS – David Eugene Hefler, of Wells, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022.

The fifth of six children born to William A. Hefler and Gerardine M. (Doyle) Hefler on May 10, 1937, he grew up in Milton, Mass. at his parents’ beautiful estate, “Easy Acres,” on Smith Road. As a boy in high school, he had 500 laying hens and, each Saturday, he sold eggs door to door in the South Shore section of Boston, Mass. He graduated from Norfolk County Agricultural High School and went on to study Animal Science with an emphasis in Poultry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating in 1960. He loved his high school and college years, and they were some of the best years of his life.

He served in the Armor Branch of the United States Army for two years, making the rank of second lieutenant and becoming the commanding officer of a tank company. He received the Army Commendation Medal at the end of his service.

After the army, he spent four years working for the Northeastern Poultry Producers Council in Trenton, N.J. and, in 1967, he returned to New England to join Maine Egg Producers in Scarborough as an egg salesman covering most of New England. In 1972, Maine Egg Producers was purchased by DeCoster Egg Farms and David was appointed by the company as sales manager covering most of the Northeast.

In 1980, David formed Hefler & Co., an export management and export trading company, exporting eggs to Middle Eastern countries and Europe. In New England, Hefler & Co. handled all of DeCoster Egg Farms’ exports to the Far East. His greatest accomplishment was the introduction and sale of fresh brown shell eggs to the Hong Kong market. He sold the eggs by the container load, and each container contained 800 cases of eggs. At one time, he was the largest user of the port of Portland.

David loved the work he did in the egg sector of the poultry industry and, by the time he retired, he had worked in the industry for 50 years. At the request of the U.S. government, he represented the U.S. egg industry in several trade missions that took him to Africa, the Middle East, and Far East, including most of China. In 1994, he was elected chairman of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council and, in 1995, members of the egg industry named him “Egg Man of the Year.”

In his later years, David became a Master Gardener and kept himself busy tending to the gardens on his property in Scarborough. His home in Scarborough was his pride and joy, and he and his wife, Donna, loved hosting family and friends there for the holidays and summertime lobster bakes. A lifelong United States history buff, if he wasn’t reading a book or watching a program about World War II, he was taking a history class for fun at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. David was a larger-than-life character in all respects with an infectious passion for life and he will be sorely missed by his family and friends.

David is survived by his son, Aaron Hefler, and his husband, Royce Conner, of Richmond, Calif.; his sister, Ann Williams, of Southern Pines, N.C., his sister, Martha Sheehy, and her husband, John, of Concord, N.H., his brother, Peter Hefler, and his wife, Janet, of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; his stepdaughter, Carolyn Hazard, and her partner, Will Sachse, of Philadelphia, Pa., his stepson, Robert Hazard, and his wife, Gabrielle, of Wellesley, Mass., his stepson, James Hazard, and his wife, Shirin Samadani, of Falmouth and Milton, Mass.; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, Donna Hazard; and his brothers William Hefler Jr. and James Hefler.

The family would like to offer special thanks to Orlene DeMatteo, R.N., at OceanView at Falmouth and the entire staff of Avita of Wells and Beacon Hospice for taking such good care of David during his final years.

Services will be held in June 2023, exact date to be determined. Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.