Heinz Heimann

Heinz Heimann joined our heavenly Father after a very short battle with cancer on Saturday, January 23, 2010. Heinz was born in Obing an Chiemsee, Germany on July 25, 1925 to Helmuth Gross and Anna Heimann. He grew up in Feuctwangen, Germany until age of 13. He then went to Munich to start his apprenticeship with the Deutsche Bundesbahn. His pursuit was to be a pilot and after earning some wings, at the age of 18, he was drafted into the German Air Force. Soon after his draft, there was no fuel for planes, so he was loaded on a train and moved to the Eastern Front, where he was taken prisoner from a home in Poland in January, 1945. He was a Siberian prisoner of war from January 1945-May 25, 1949. He was one of the 57 survivors of 500+ in his camp. This prison experience was what Heinz defined as his “apprenticeship on life.” Upon his return to freedom, he worked for the German Railroad as an accountant. Attending evening school, restlessness set in and Heinz and a dear friend, Karl Kochmann, decided to immigrate to America. A second cousin in Arlington Heights, IL, sponsored his immigration in February, 1955. Heinz boarded the ship, “Italia”, in Hamburg and sailed to America, where he went to work in Chicago and the suburbs. He worked as a commercial packaging design engineer and a tool and die maker until his retirement in 1988. He earned his US citizenship in 1961 which he was proud of and cherished. He and his first wife had two children, Ralph and Gloria who were the apple of his eye. In 1989, he and Patricia Yetter married and had a marriage made in heaven. They made their home in Aurora, IL until 1993, when they became full time Sun City residents. On their 20th anniversary, Heinz learned he had widespread cancer. It was a bittersweet last nine weeks and Heinz made every effort to live to the fullest and then succumbed to the cancer with his wife and family at his side. Heinz is survived by his wife, Patricia; daughter, Gloria Hoffer and her husband Don Hoffer and two-year old twins, Nick and Kate; S-I-L, Janice Skinner; M-I-L, Mary Yetter and multiple nephews and their wives and his little dog, Fiffi. He has multiple cousins in Bavaria, Germany and Austria. He was preceded in death by his mother, father, son, Ralph and a very special aunt, Tante Gretl. Heinz was very appreciative of the many years of care that his favorite Dr. Jeffrey Ronn and his nurse Kim gave to him which allowed him to survive almost 15 years after several cardiac arrests. The family is very appreciative of Hospice Nurses Kim and Alexei who supported Heinz’s comfort in the final weeks of his life. In lieu of flowers, Heinz’s wish was for any donations be sent to Hospice of Arizona, 19829 N. 7th Ave, Suite 130, Phoenix, AZ 85027. Memorial Services will be Monday, February 1st at 11:00 AM at Menke Funeral & Cremation Center in Sun City, AZ