Leona Shaefer Heckman

HECKMAN, KRAUSE, SHAEFER, KOPASKA, SHELLEY, WALKER

Posted By: Treva Patterson (email)
Date: 7/12/2006 at 16:00:29

Winterset Madisonian
December 11, 2002

Leona Heckman, Dexter

Leona Elizabeth Heckman, 92, of Dexter died of a stroke Nov. 30, 2002, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

Funeral services were held Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the First Presbyterian Church in Dexter with the Rev. Dr. Ray Martin officiating. Burial was at Dexter Cemetery.

Leona Heckman was born Dec. 8, 1909 in Audubon County to Elmer E. and Martha F. (Krause) Shaefer. She was a graduate of Adair High School and taught country school in that area. She later attended Capital City Commercial School in Des Moines. On Aug. 12, 1931, she married Gerald Heckman.

She and her husband had farmed in Cass, Adair, Dallas and Madison counties. Leona also had worked as a dietitian at the Dexter hospital. She had been active with plays at Union No. 5 and later with the Apple Tree Players in Winterset. She also completed the Dale Carnegie Course.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and three brothers, Leonald C. Shaefer, Lester W. Shaefer and Clarence E. Shaefer.

She is survived by two daughters, Dorothy Kopaska (husband Earnie) of Dexter and Vera Shelley (husband Dean) of Menlo; two sons, Errol Heckman (wife Elaine) of Dexter and Glenn Heckman (wife Kathy) of Osceola; a sister, Janette Walker of San Antonia, Texas; a brother, Ray Shaefer (wife Josephine) of Canon City, Colo.; 15 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; 10 stepgreat-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; and two stepgreat-great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were handled by Kuhn Funeral Homes of Dexter and Earlham.