Jeannette Rosemond (Payne) Heintz

Jeannette Rosemond (Payne) Heintz, 86, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 24, 2018, in Des Moines, Iowa, after a courageous battle with cancer and COPD. She was born to Daniel G. E. and Margueritte E. (Tofsland) Payne on March 10, 1932, in Palisade, Minnesota. She graduated from Des Moines Technical High School in 1950, where she specialized in secretarial training. She was proud of her subsequent accomplishments in that field.

Jeannette married Richard Heintz in 1954. She was a fiercely protective, caring and devoted mother to her three children. The family moved to several cities within Iowa, to Texas and to Nebraska. Jeannette learned to take on each move as a new challenge and became quite adept at packing and establishing a new home.

Her favorite activities included sending and receiving greeting cards, fishing, camping, playing the piano, and listening to music and to WHO Radio. Although she had been dancing her entire life, she took line dancing lessons with her niece at the age of 60 and enjoyed attending dances across Iowa several times each week.

She was very creative and especially enjoyed assembling her famous ghost with a carved pumpkin head for Halloween each year for the neighborhood children to see.

Richard and Jeannette became charter members of the Sons of Norway, Marsteinen Lodge 1-596 in Des Moines in 1984. They studied Norwegian and travelled to explore beautiful Norway and Sweden with relatives from the area. They also travelled to Germany and to Hawaii.

After vowing she would never stare at a computer screen, Jeannette delighted in learning to use the lap top presented to her by her grandson. She was especially tickled when she learned to use a translation program to communicate with her overseas relatives and with her new Bosnian neighbors.

In addition to her family, Jeannette will be fondly remembered by the ladies of the block who, for over four decades, ate lunch together once a month, swapped stories of their children, solved the world’s problems, and looked out for one another.

Jeannette is survived by her daughter, Deanna Nemmers of Des Moines, son Lloyd (Marilee) of Aurora, Colorado, and grandchildren Tyhra Heintz, Matt and Scott Nemmers, Tanner and Morgan Heintz. Also living are her beloved sister, Deloris Bohnsack, and her brother Elmer Payne, sister-in-law Joyce Heintz, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Heintz, son Bryan Heintz, granddaughter, Jessica Nemmers, and nephew Michael Bohnsack.

Visitation for Jeannette will be held on Thursday, May 31, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. at McLaren’s Chapel, Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines, Iowa, with funeral service following.

In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to Norm Carlson, Treasurer, Sons of Norway, 1236 71st Street, Windsor Heights, IA 50324.