Lloyd Heng passed away in 2012, at the age of 80. He was a man who liked to dance, liked country music and loved his hometown.

In 1997, the first scholarships were awarded from the Lloyd Heng Scholarship Fund. Every year since 1997, Barnesville High School students receive scholarships from the Lloyd Heng Scholarship Fund. Because of Heng’s commitment to his hometown, four students from Barnesville receive $5,000 to help attend college. Scholarship recipients are selected based off their academic achievement, school activities and community involvement.   

Heng was born and raised on a farm just north of Barnesville, near Downer. He graduated from Barnesville High School in 1951 and worked on the family farm until 1953 when he enlisted in the Army. In 1955, he moved to Port Orchard, Wash., to seek employment with Boeing Aircraft. He was hired as a bench mechanic. He was employed there for 44 years, retiring as a machine operator. He continued to live in Washington after his retirement, returning to Minnesota several times, and even attended the event awarding the first scholarships from his fund. 

In 1995, when he decided he wanted to give back to his hometown, Lloyd enlisted the assistance of his niece Cathy Affield and his nephew Jim Heng. Working with the FM Area Foundation, they created an agreement that would form a permanent scholarship fund.

When Lloyd Heng passed away in 20212, his assets were contributed to the Lloyd Heng Scholarship Fund at the Foundation by direction within his will. During meetings to create the initial fund, Lloyd told Foundation staff, “Hometown means a lot to me.”