Nick Heckman, 57
Nick Heckman age 57 of Lawler, IA, died Friday, January 28, 2022, at the Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner.
Funeral services will be held at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 3, 2022, at the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. Private family interment will take place at a later date.
Friends may greet the family 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 3, 2022, at the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory.
Nick William Heckman was born December 16, 1964, in Postville, IA, the son of Leslie and Sherill (Rekow) Heckman. He grew up in the small Northeast Iowa town where he was born and, as a boy, he loved his summers at the town pool.
Nick received his education in Postville, where he was involved in football and baseball, before graduating with the Class of 1983. He furthered his education at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, where he majored in criminal justice.
He worked several jobs — including at a cabinet shop and putting up hog-confinement buildings — before landing a job as an electrician at the Featherlite plant in Cresco in 1996. Accepting that job proved to be a wonderful decision for Nick, for not only did he shine in his work there for 22 years but it was at Featherlite where he met his future wife, Deb.
The two were married on Sept. 15, 2001, at Immanuel Lutheran Church north of Lawler. Nick loved his wife Deb and stepson Zach, and Deb welcomed Nick's sons Nicholas and Kristian into their beautiful blended family. They spent countless hours on their home, which was the old convent built in Lawler in the 1800s and was, as Deb put it, a fixer-upper. Nick was just the man to do the job.
He had the patience of Job, he had a God-given talent for knowing just how to fix pretty much anything and everything, having a knack for cobbling things together and making them look absolutely beautiful. His son Zach remembers the Friday or Saturday evening trips to Menard’s and Walmart, which meant that the family “had something to do on Sunday.”
Nick also loved his home’s flower beds, decorating for the holidays, and the legions of pets — they came in all sizes and many species, too — that the couple had over the years. One of his favorites was Bob, the chihuahua and weiner dog mix who may have been the runt of his litter but who also captured Nick’s heart.
After working more than 22 years at Featherlite, Nick took a job with Life Line Emergency Vehicles in Sumner, where he helped build ambulances until his health forced him into retirement.
Nick was a longtime member of the Lawler Fire Department, and in many ways, he found his calling as a fireman. He loved the lights, the sirens, the brotherhood, and the camaraderie, no question about it. But what made his work as a fireman meaningful was that he was helping people. Throughout his life, that was Nick in a nutshell. He always put others before himself.
Even as he battled health issues in recent years, he always kept a positive attitude and was always looking forward to the future. He and Deb always said “we can do this” and he put up a valiant and positive fight.
Nick was strong, confident, and determined. Throughout his life, he was a great, loyal friend who exuded graciousness and kindness to everyone, including his wife, his children, his friends, his fellow firefighters, and those he helped on all those calls he took as a fireman. If someone needed help throughout his life, Nick was always there to offer a hand, and he will be dearly missed by those who knew and loved him.
Survivors include his wife; Deb; three sons, Zach (Nikki) Njus of Polk City, IA, Nicholas Heckman of Ames, IA, Kristian (Aislinn) Heckman of Altoona, IA; two grandchildren, Malachi and Payton; parents, Les and Sherill Heckman of Mountain Home, AR; sister, Cori (Mario) Perez of AR; Brothers-in-law, Dennis (Connie) Njus of New Hampton, David Njus (Lisa) of Lawler; sisters-in-law, Dawn Njus of New Hampton, Samantha Njus of Lawler; nieces and nephews, Coral, Allie, Macie and Nick Njus, Keira Myers, Chris Thies, Elizabeth Njus and Tyler Perez.
Nick was preceded in death by his parents-in-law, Lyle and Bernette Njus; brothers-in-law, Eric Njus and Greg Thies.
