Obituary of Jeanne L. Heitkamp

Jeanne Heitkamp age 95, of St. Paul, died on Sunday, Oct 1, 2023. Funeral Service will be held 11:00am Wednesday, October 4 at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, 1669 Arcade St (Hwy 61), St Paul with visitation at the church 1½ hours prior to the service. Private Burial at Fort Snelling. Memorials preferred to Alzheimer’s Association or BrightFocus Foundation. Jeanne was born July 31,1928 in Robbinsdale, to parents Michael and Anna (Carlson) Fedor. At the age of 15, she had experimental open-heart surgery at the University of Minnesota to repair Patent Ductus Arteriosus. She was trained as an accountant at Honeywell where she met John. They were married March 5,1955 and remained married until John’s passing in 1996. Both of their sons were born while living in their North Minneapolis duplex. They moved to St. Paul in 1960 and Jeanne resided in that same Iowa Ave home until she moved to assisted living in October of 2020. When the boys were in junior high/elementary, Jeanne took a position as a pre-school teacher’s aide at Gustavus Adolphus church. She regularly volunteered at GA, Loaves and Fishes, and Meals on Wheels. She was not one to sit around. When she did sit; she always had a knitting or sewing project in her hands. She was always up for an adventure. She loved being a grandma and frequently watched the grandkids. She filled in for daycare as needed and loved her grandbabies. She spent hours pitching baseballs to kids, making play dough, and teaching them to knit. She lit up when her great-grandchildren were around her. She is preceded in death by husband, John; siblings, Bob (Jerry), Betty (Leonard) Rutz, Marian (Helmer) Engstrom, Dorothy (Mike) Black, Mike (Gloria), George, Grace (Eddie) Snaza, and Anna Scott; and granddaughter, Laura. She is survived by sons, Stuart (Jennifer) and Douglas (Becky); grandchildren, Anne (Clayton) Hunt, John, Steven, Claire (Charlie) Stocke, Ryan (Delaney), and Karl; great-grandchildren, Harvey, Aubrey, Ryder, and Jack; good friend and brother-in-law, Russ; sister-in-law, Gayle; and her many nieces, nephews, and friends. If you are unable to attend, this is the link to the livestream of the service. https://vimeo.com/event/3764537