Robert Woodward Heller

Heller, Robert W

Captain, USAF

1936-2025

Born on a hot June day in Denver, Robert “Bob” Heller was brought home to Idaho Springs, CO. by his loving parents Albert, a miner, and Eva, a school teacher. 2 years later he became the proud older brother to his brother Bill. Their childhood would be spent playing on the mountains and in the streams in their quaint mining town. They hunted squirrels and rabbits and rode bikes down Virginia Canyon. Bob and Bill would also deliver eggs and coal, straighten nails and learn the ropes at The Mines Supply Co., owned and run by their grandfather and father. After graduating from high school, Bob went off to the University of Colorado, Boulder and earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering. He entered the USAF as a civil engineer. His career in the Air Force took him many places in the US. No assignment was more important than Wichita Falls, TX, at Sheppard AFB. While stationed here, he was sent on a blind date with a beautiful young woman named Deirdre who was the musical director for the base chapel. While their first date didn’t go too well, they later hit it off and spent 54 years of marriage by each other’s side. This never ending love brought 5 children into their lives. Due to his military career all 5 of their children were born in different states. During his career, he earned his Master's Degree at the University of New Hampshire while stationed in Kittery, Maine. Bob also spent 18 months in Thailand during the Vietnam War. After 16 years of service, Bob honorably left the Air Force while he was stationed at Offutt AFB in Bellevue, NE. They then moved to Dubuque, IA, where Bob started his career with People’s Natural Gas. He soon had the opportunity to transfer back to Omaha, Nebraska. Here he helped Dee flourish in her art career as her “artist gopher”. They took the five children on many road trips and to art shows across the country. Bob helped raise their children in a stern yet playful way. He sacrificed to be able to send them to Catholic schools, coached their soccer teams, taught them how to love God, take care of their cars, build tree houses, load a trailer like a Tetris master and how to be a devoted, faithful and wonderful husband and father. Following his military service, he worked as a manager in the engineering department of Peoples Natural Gas, Northern Natural Gas, InterNorth and eventually Enron. In 1988, Bob and Dee put their years of art experience and a mountain of ingenuity to work and opened Heller Art Images. Together with two of their children, Tim and Stephanie they ran the art and framing gallery for 22 years. In his free time, Bob loved woodworking, shopping at hardware stores, and saving every last screw, nail, piece of wood and drywall, (you just never know when you are going to need it!) He was an expert at best hugs, also enjoyed cruises, vacations on the beach in South Carolina, reading history books, doing crosswords and being the best Papa his 15 grandchildren could possibly have. Bob and Dee never failed to open their hearts and home to others. When Dee passed away, Bob’s life mission of making her happy was complete, and he waited patiently to be called home to heaven.

We will miss the incredibly short phone calls with our “ever-loving father”. Bob-isms we were raised with were icy roads that were “slicker than snot on a door knob,” “Lord love a duck” and disappointments that were better than a “kick in the tail with a frozen ski boot” or idle threats to “knock us into the middle of next week” if we didn’t “turn off the boob-tube.” and “Well, whoopty-doo!” No matter how hard we pushed, none of us made it to the middle of next week.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, son Michael, son-in-law John Durr, his parents and brother William and a whole lot of dogs. He is survived by his son, Timothy (Cynthia) Heller, daughter-in-law Cassy Heller, daughters Stephanie Heller-Durr, Lisa (Greg) Hobday, Kate (Brett) Thomas, 15 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, sister-in-law, nephews and niece, cousins and many “adopted” children.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials to the Michael S. Heller Early-Onset Alzheimer's Excellence Fund through the University of Nebraska Foundation. https://nufoundation.org/fund/01159920/

Michael S. Heller Early-Onset Alzheimer's Excellence Fund - University of Nebraska Foundation
1010 Lincoln Mall, Suite 300 Lincoln, NE 68508 800-432-3216 [email protected]
nufoundation.org