Deanna Kay Nemmers

Deanna Kay Nemmers of Des Moines, Iowa, passed away on Christmas Eve, 2025. Deanna was born November 12, 1955 and was the first child of Richard and Jeannette Heintz. Deanna later became the supportive and spirited older sister to Lloyd and Bryan Heintz. After getting married, she had a daughter Jessica, and sons, Matt and Scott Nemmers. On December 24th, 2025, Deanna lost her battles with several health issues including Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and kidney failure. Although the health issues took her life, they are not what define it.

Deanna was a creative dreamer who was passionate about crafting, architecture, service to her community, and seeing those she cared for succeed.

From an early age, Deanna exemplified service leadership in her community. In Scottsbluff, Nebraska, she was a member of the Police Explorer Scout Post where she would ride around with law enforcement officers, learn about police work, and had a deep appreciation for their service to their community. She was inspired by her experience as an Explorer to want to pursue a career in law enforcement herself, but that would have to wait and take some unique twists. Scottsbluff was one of many cities she and her family would call home as they moved based on her dad’s work in the automotive repair industry.

During her time at Hoover High School in Des Moines, she would travel downtown to Ramsey Pontiac and meet her dad for lunch. She often spoke of how her dad would treat her to lunch at a cafeteria across the street; he would point out that the manager was blind, noting it as a prime example of how a disability does not limit a person’s capabilities. This connection would have a significant impact on Deanna in years to come.

For her first job out of high school, she began working in the very same building where she had shared those lunches with her dad: the Iowa Department for the Blind. Deanna held various roles within the Department, from supporting patrons in the Library for the Blind by organizing the stacks and managing the catalog system, to working in the front office alongside the director and deputy director.

She was frequently tasked with taking extensive shorthand notes, transcribing dictations, and preparing documents for the National Federation of the Blind under the direction of Kenneth Jernigan. It was also during this time that she met several members of the Nemmers family, eventually becoming a part of the family herself.

Upon leaving the Department, Deanna returned to the legal field, taking a position with attorney Richard L. Rick in Des Moines. There, her aptitude for technology was put to the test as she became an expert in the new computer systems then emerging in the business world. Notably, she utilized this new technology to prepare a legal brief for a case heard by the United States Supreme Court.

Law was not Deanna’s only passion; she also had a deep love for art, crafting, and design. These interests blossomed into a natural talent for calligraphy, Hardanger embroidery, baking, drawing, and stained glass. Deanna loved to create. She’d be asked to hand-paint a sign for the Urbandale Lions Club, bake the most amazing brownies with Kahlua frosting, and go on to take her interest in stained glass and become a professional in the field.

In the 1980s, Deanna joined the Stained Glass Store on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines. While there, she contributed to the creation of many pieces for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Urbandale, Iowa, and had the special opportunity to complete an entire 12-pane window on her own — a window that continues to fill the sanctuary with colorful light today.

While Deanna dreamed of becoming even more involved in architecture, those windows remained her most profound work in the field. In her leisure time, she continued to create stained glass pieces—often as gifts for others, though every once in a while, she would craft a small piece for herself. She also loved to drive around observing architectural trends and pausing simply to admire the beauty of various designs like those of the Stave Church of Little Norway in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, or the town of New Glarus.

After some time away to support a family business, Deanna chose to return to the field of law. She took a position with the Polk County Attorney’s Office in the Juvenile Division. In this role, she provided support to the lawyers, and developed friendships with the investigators, the Drug and Gang Unit, and enjoyed being able to check in with her in-laws at the time, Cass and Patsy Nemmers, when the opportunity presented itself.

After more than a decade of service to the office, Deanna would leave work with Polk County to care for loved ones. She admired her mother, Jeannette, and her aunt, Deloris Bohnsack, and the way they lived their lives. Deanna admired their senses of humor, their spirited sides that came out whenever they were together, and the bond they shared as sisters. That bond was one she cherished with her own brothers, Lloyd and Bryan, as well! It meant everything to Deanna to be able to show her love and support for these ladies by caring for her mom at home and to be a part of Deloris’ support system through each of their passings.

Whether it was her love for animals, her children, or her friends, Deanna gave of herself without hesitation so others could achieve more. Pets were no stranger to Deanna! She loved the dogs in her life – Cinnamon, Hercules, Pluto, Katie, and Rory. Each one was special to her and had their own collection of stories that Deanna would reminisce about. Deanna also entertained various other pets her boys would bring home. Whether it was Pete the Mini Lop Rabbit, the Zebra Finches, the school of Guppies, or Lilly the Calico, she would love them and work with her boys to care for them.

Deanna was a proud mother of three children: Jessica, Matt, and Scott Nemmers. Although Jessica’s life was short due to SIDS, Deanna carried her love for her daughter just as importantly as she would carry her love for her boys. Deanna would go on to teach her boys many life lessons by demonstrating kindness to others, even if she might not want to at the time, finding joy even in the sucky situations, and putting forth every effort without being worried about a spotlight or fanfare in return. Matt says Deanna’s biggest contribution to who he is today is how “…mom had such a unique sense of adventure. It wasn’t that she was into skydiving or anything like that. It was that she wasn’t afraid to try something knowing that it might not go right. Not only could she accept that things might not go right, she somehow managed to make the mishap better than the original plan. I never understood how impressive and beneficial it was to be able to do this until I was older.” Scott says Deanna’s biggest impact on him is “how much she gave of herself to support coworkers, friends, and family. She would often put her own plans on hold and drop what she was doing to help others. The amount of care and dedication she put into raising my brother and I, then later caring for her mom and aunt, is what inspired me to give her all I could when she began to need help. It was important to me that she knew we saw all the work she did for everyone and that the love she had for all of us was returned in her time of need.”

Deanna was incredibly proud of her boys accomplishments and their interests. When Scott became a Freemason, she was surprised to be contacted by one of her coworkers, Jim Trotter, supporting Scott's decision and explaining the fraternity. She enjoyed seeing Scott take his degree work seriously, which led to him being elected to be the Worshipful Master of his lodge in Polk City, Iowa. She was able to be in attendance and watch him assume the role and again see him pass it on to the next master. When Matt had the opportunity to work with Karen “Skosh” Bason of Grand View University to host a couple of Danish gymnastics teams visiting the area, Deanna was excited to make, wrap, and distribute welcome gifts for all the gymnasts and coaches!

Deanna was preceded in death by her parents Richard and Jeannette Heintz, her brother Bryan Heintz, aunt and uncle Deloris and Lee Bohnsack, uncle Eddie “Oscar” Heintz, aunt and uncle Elaine and Elmer Payne, cousins Mike Bohnsack and Danny Payne, as well as Cass Nemmers and a number of other close family members.

Deanna is survived by her brother Lloyd (Marilee) Heintz, sons Matt (Angie Houk) and Scott Nemmers, many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and brothers and sisters in-law, some very close friends including Karen “Skosh” Bason, Will Sales, and Nancy Mullenberg, and her grand pets Oscar, Bamse, and Lilly Nemmers.

Well-wishers are encouraged to leave messages on this page. To contact the family, please leave a message with Matt Nemmers at 515-202-3041.