Services for James D. Heller, 59, of Madison, NE, will be Friday, July 2, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison; Susan Urbanec, PMA will be officiating. The visitation will be Thursday, July 1, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the church. Inurnment will be at a later date. Memorials may be directed to the family for future designation. Arrangements are under the direction of Resseguie Funeral Home in Madison.
James Heller, 59, of Madison, Nebraska, passed away on Friday, June 25, 2021 after a valiant battle with cancer.
James was born on March 14th, 1962 to LaVina (Heller) Flowers in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from Madison High School in 1980. On September 4, 1980, James married the love of his life Sharilyn (Schulz) Heller going on to complete his ultimate life goal of becoming a father of two children, Sara and Travis. James was also blessed with a son-in-law, Colby, and two grandsons that he adored, Peyton and Easton.
He joined the Norfolk Police Department as a police officer in May of 1986 until having to retire for medical reasons in 2019. In 2002, he had the opportunity to do security at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. After being diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer in the summer of 2004 at the age of 42, James did not let the diagnosis diminish his love for public service. James was an EMT for over 20 years on the Madison Fire and Rescue Squad. He worked for Sioux City Night Patrol doing security at Faith Regional Hospital and Northeast Community College. In addition, he also served on the Madison County Fair Board/Ag Society for twelve years and served as president for several of those years.
James enjoyed the outdoors by hunting, fishing, and camping; going on family vacations; visiting extended family at reunions; teaching his son and son-in-law carpentry skills by working on home projects; watching and attending Husker Football games; and cooking barbecue on his Traeger for his family and friends.
He is survived by his wife, Sharilyn; children, Sara (Heller) Jones and Travis Heller; son-in-law, Colby Jones; grandsons, Peyton Jones and Easton Jones; mother, LaVina Flowers; brother, Daniel Heller; and a multitude of aunts, uncles, in-laws, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
James is preceded in death by his grandparents Oscar and Laura Heller, and parent-in-laws Otto and Adelyn Schulz.
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