Cocoa Beach, Florida: They say you measure a person’s life by how many people show up at their funeral and what is said about them. Well, Cocoa Beach lost a legend this past weekend.
Heidi Deleuil passed away on Saturday night and will be missed. She and her husband Eddie ran the restaurant and jazz club. Rather than I put it into words what she meant to downtown Cocoa Beach instead I will let The Beachside Residents speak……….
“Heidi’s passing is very sad and personal,” said Malcolm Kirschenbaum, a longtime Cocoa Beach resident. “We met when she first arrived in Cocoa Beach. Heidi brought class and culture to her restaurant and jazz club.”
“Heidi always had high standards for service and quality,” Dee Dee Sheffield said. “She and her husband Eddie operate one of the finest restaurants in Cocoa Beach and it has remained consistently excellent for nearly three decades. “Whether for lunch or dinner, each and every time, we knew we would have a fabulous meal and excellent service. She was demanding with her staff and it showed, but she was highly respected as well.”
Sybil Gage said “Heidi created something of great historical value, her award-winning restaurant, and jazz club,” Gage said, who now lives in Brevard County. “Thinking with her head and not her heart mostly was a secret to success. She was an incredible businesswoman that changed lives. The end of an era.”Gage said she will always cherish her time with Heidi. “She was a real friend and mentor,” Gage said. “Over the last few years we ended all of our conversations with ‘I love you,’ ‘I love you back,’ ‘I love you more.'”I will miss her.”
AJ Hutson said “A huge loss for the CB community. Heidi was one of those unique characters that give CB its personality. Astute businesswoman, a cultural shepherd with that gleam of mischievousness in her eye. Heidi and Eddie have made the jazz Club/Heidelberg into a CB landmark. We’re sorry for your loss, Eddie. I would be remiss if we didn’t at the same time recognize Eddie for his outstanding cuisine, his part in creating excellence at the Heidelberg and his interest and efforts in raising the bar in the downtown in so many ways for Cocoa Beach.
RIP, Heidi. We miss you already”.Chris Hodgson wrote “When gay men were perishing left and right back in the 80’s, Heidi not only raised and donated tens of thousands of dollars for their care but personally nursed many that were her friends. She held their hands as they passed, when many would not touch them including their own parents. With these acts of compassion alone, Heidi Deleuil showed all of us how to be better people.
As many of you know I run the Facebook page WAKE UP COCOA BEACH above are just a few of the stories but I will close but there was so many more so I will end with one last one.
Heidi loved my Mom and when she would call to check on her and my Mom would not answer and not return her call right away Heidi would call me and have me drive to my Mom’s place and make sure she was ok. She would always tell me how much she loved her and was always a joy to be around. I will never forget her inviting me to play poker with some other CB legends……Frank Hardaway, Dick Biery, Steve Gray, and others. Heidi was a great player and always fired shots at those guys.
RIP my friend Heidi………
-Steve Romano
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