Frederick Jacob Reagan Heebe was born on August 25, 1922, in Gretna, Louisiana. He graduated from Fortier High School before attending Tulane University, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated in 1943 with a bachelor’s degree before serving in the Army in the Pacific during WWII. He received a Purple Heart after being wounded on Okinawa and later received a Bronze Star, Bronze Service Star, and the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal. He left the Army with the rank of captain in 1946.

In 1949, Judge Heebe earned his LL.B. from to Tulane Law School.  Thereafter, he was in private practice until 1960.  From 1958 to 1960 he was the Vice-Chairman of the Jefferson Parish Council. In 1960, he was elected as a state judge to the 24th Judicial District Court, Parish of Jefferson, State of Louisiana, a post he occupied until President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated him to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Heebe was confirmed by the Senate on March 25, 1966, and he received his commission the next day.

Judge Heebe served the court for well over 20 years, becoming Chief Judge in 1972, and serving in that capacity until 1992. He assumed senior status in 1992, and retired in 1996 due to declining health. Judge Heebe passed away on August 10, 2014, at 91 years old.
    
Judge Heebe presided over many historic cases during his time as a District Judge, including civil rights cases on segregation in public utilities and schools, voting rights, and housing and employment discrimination. He also presided over Shaw v. Garrison, in which Clay Shaw sued Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison to prevent Garrison from prosecuting him in connection with the assassination President John F. Kennedy. It was on these cases that Judge Heebe built a reputation for “[following] the law,” according to United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and established himself within the “grand history of brilliant jurists,” according to Senior District Judge Ivan Lemelle.

Sources: http://lakelawn.tributes.com/dignitymemorial/obituary/Frederick-Jacob-Re...
https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/heebe-frederick-jacob-reagan