Memorial service planned December 8 in Lakeside

December 6, 2012 (San Diego's East County) – Maria Ines Heimpel, who taught  languages for more than three decades at Helix High School in La Mesa and volunteered for humanitarian causes in San Diego and Tijuana, died peacefully in her home on November 27, 2012.

Her lifelong concern for those in need led to her involvement with a clinic and an orphanage in Tijuana. She also participated as an interpreter with the Mercy Outreach Surgical Team, a group of doctors performing free surgical procedures for poor children in Mexico.

“She was a people person and as a teacher, genuinely interested in each of her students, going out of her way to help them,” fellow teacher and  friend Jean Costa said.  “She was a positive influence on the lives of so many young people and on the lives of people who knew her.”