Henry John “Butch” Heman, III, age 54, of Carroll, IA, and formerly of Dedham, IA, passed away on Sunday, September 27, 2020 at his home in Carroll.
Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 A.M. on Saturday, October 3, 2020 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dedham. The Celebrant will be Fr. Patrick Behm assisted by Deacon Louis Meiners. Lector for the Mass will be Melissa Beiler. Organist for the Mass will be Cindy Bauer and cantor will be Kathleen Macke. Casket bearers will be Mitchell Bro, Andrew Tucker, Tyler Gross, Alex Gross, Ryan Nees, Ethan Beiler, Ben Grossman, and Justin Warnke. Honorary casket bearers will be Butch’s nieces: Melissa Beiler, Amanda Nees, Courtney Warnke, Rachel Nees, Michaela Grossman, Leah Tucker, and Kaitlyn Gross. Burial will be in the St. Joseph’s Parish Cemetery.
Friends may call at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll after 5:00 P.M. on Friday evening where there will be a Christian Wake Service held at 6:30 P.M. followed by a Rosary.
Those in attendance at Butch’s visitation and Mass are asked to abide by Covid – 19 social distancing guidelines and masks are recommended at the funeral home and are required at the church.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Butch’s family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com
Butch, as he was known to most, was born on March 23, 1966 in Carroll, IA, during a blizzard, and was the son on Henry John, Jr. and Mary (Nair) Heman. He grew up in Dedham and graduated from Kuemper High School in 1984. He attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications in May of 1989. Following college he worked for a local daily newspaper for 21 years. During his career at the newspaper he earned 108 awards through the Iowa Newspaper Association. Butch worked simultaneously at the Carroll Communications Center for 20 years as a dispatcher. During his service at the Comm Center, he was nominated runner up two times for dispatcher of the year.
Although Butch was prevented from being active in sports and many activities by Osteogenesis Imperfecta “Brittle Bone Disease,” he was an avid sports fan and team supporter. He loved the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Royals, and NASCAR on a national level. On the local level he was an Iowa Hawkeyes Fan and he kept records and stats for local slow pitch teams and announced many of the games in Dedham. Butch would have loved to have kids, but because of his disease, Butch chose not to have children, but he was the best uncle ever to his many nieces and nephews. Butch also loved storm chasing. He was a brilliant writer and spent countless hours posting on social media about local history and events.
Butch is survived by his five sisters and their families: Mary Jo Bro (Mike) of Bedford, TX, Paula Davis (Mike) of Coon Rapids, Wanda Tucker (Rodney) of Urbandale, IA, Annette Nees (Dave) of Dedham, and Kris Gross (Larry) of Ames; his foster brother Mike Christensen of Carroll; his nieces and nephews; his special friends and neighbors the Danielle Quinn family; several aunts, uncles, and cousins; and his great-niece Iris Warnke.
Butch was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Mary Heman and his great-niece Isla Ruth Warnke. He was also preceded in death by his beloved dog Samson and his cat Bubba.