Lt. Col. John "Jack" Heitman

Jack was born in Peru, Illinois to Edna and Henry Heitman. Although he was an only child, he perpetrated enough pranks with his buddies in that rural town that God broke the “Jack” mold. He attended St. Joseph Elementary School and St. Bede’s Academy. A highlight of his memories of St. Bede’s was playing golf every day with the priests there. He was accepted into the Air Force cadet program and graduated as a navigator bombardier. His first assignment was to a B 47 crew with the Strategic Air Command at Mountain Home Air Force base in Idaho. It was there he met and married Lt. Carol Audrey Michael. He later accepted an assignment as a Minuteman missile commander. In that capacity he competed and won the honor of “Minuteman Commander of the Year” Air Force- wide. He later flew reconnaissance during the Vietnam War.

He earned a Bachelor of Science and then a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Wyoming. He later completed a second master’s degree in public administration. He then went on to start a second successful career as a city administrator in Kentwood, Michigan.

After relocating to Colorado in retirement, he climbed Long’s Peak three times, the last being in his mid-70s, solo, on a wild and windy summer day. His adventures (and misadventures) were family legends. Nothing was too high, too fast or too risky for him. During his long life, he golfed, water skied, hunted (and trained his own bird-dog), backpacked, played racquetball, scuba-dived, flew small planes, sailed. But his greatest love was fly fishing in the West’s wild spaces, something he immersed himself in at every opportunity.

Jack was a man who was quietly generous with his time and money. He volunteered for decades bringing food to vulnerable elders with Meals on Wheels. He would anonymously contribute large sums of money to support people in life crises. He took particular joy in calling up the local gas company and secretly paying off a random person’s overdue gas bill.

He leaves behind his wife and mainstay Carol, 5 loving children: Laura (and Richard) Starrett of Hood River, Oregon; Scott Heitman of Wrangell Alaska; Brian (and Pam) Heitman of Centennial Colorado, Michael (and Laura) Heitman of Longmont Colorado, and Jacque (and Dave) Larkin of Jenison, Michigan. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Larry ( and Judy) Michael, his niece Carrie McKenzie and nephew Kevin Michael, all of whom who have hilarious “Jack” stories to tell. He also leaves 9 grieving grandchildren; one grandchild, Rachel Heitman, awaits him on the other side. He also has 3 great-grandchildren who sadly will never get an opportunity to venture into the wild spaces of the world with “Papa”.

Services will be held on Friday, May 16, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic church in Loveland, Colorado. A rosary will be said at 10 am, followed by a funeral Mass at 11 am. A lunch reception will follow in the church social hall.

This is our final salute to a hardworking man who loved God, his family, and his country.