Margaret Heldt Obituary

Margaret Vinci Heldt

Born: February 11, 1918

Died: June 10, 2016

Margaret Vinci Heldt, renowned hairdresser and creator of the iconic Beehive hairstyle, resident of Lexington Square of Elmhurst, Illinois, passed away peacefully at age 98 of heart failure on June 10, 2016.

Margaret was born on February 11, 1918, in Chicago. She attended Calhoun Elementary School, Our Lady of Sorrows and Lucy Flowers High Schools and Columbia Beauty School where she became a licensed cosmetologist in 1937.

She rose quickly in her profession, winning countless awards and accolades including the National Hairdresser of the Year Competition in 1954. She was an early female entrepreneur, founding and managing a prestigious hair salon, Margaret Vinci Coiffures, on Michigan Avenue for over two decades in the fifties and sixties. Margaret was a highly sought after instructor and mentor to others in her profession, and contributed to the success of entire generations of hairdressers in Chicagoland.

She was a member of Hair America, the National Cosmetologists Association and Cosmetologists Chicago for 78 years. She was inducted into the National Cosmetologists Hall of Renown in 2005, and in 2009 a perpetual scholarship was formed in her name to continue the tradition of helping to educate new young people in her field. One of her greatest "claims to fame" was the invention of the Beehive hairstyle which she created for a magazine cover in 1960. The original mannequin used to create the style along with the hat and bee stickpin are on display at the Chicago History Museum.

Margaret was the third of four children of Frank and Francesca Vinci.

She is preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Anthony Vinci, Josephine Becker and Mary Petrini. She is also preceded in death by her husband, Carl Ludwig Heldt, whom she married in 1942.

She is survived by her son, William (Mary) Heldt of Oswego, Illinois; her daughter, Carlene (Andrew) Ziegler of Wellington, Florida; her seven grandchildren, Carla (Phil) Meikle, Steven (Megan) Heldt, Megan (Tim) Lantz, Jillian (Alex) Crean, Sam Ziegler, Robert Ziegler and Caitlin Ziegler; and six great grandchildren.

Visitation was held at Ahlgrim Funeral Home, 567 S. Spring Rd., Elmhurst, Illinois from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, June 13. A Funeral Mass took place at Visitation Parish, 779 S. York St., Elmhurst, Illinois at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 14, 2016. Interment will follow at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Margaret Vinci Heldt Creativity in Hairdressing Scholarship, c/o Cosmetologists Chicago, 440 S. LaSalle St., Chicago 60625.

Further details can be found at www.ahlgrim.com or 630-834-3515.