Obituary: John David Heidewald

John David Heidewald, 77, of Paulden, Ariz., passed away Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013.

John was born Feb. 14, 1936, to Embie and Fred Roy Heidewald of Dunbar, Wis. His family moved in 1940 to a dairy farm in Crivitz, Wis. He graduated from Crivitz High School in 1955.

John joined the U.S. Army in 1958 and was stationed in Missouri, Georgia and Verdun, France. He enjoyed many adventures with his army buddies while in Europe. In 1962, John returned to farming and logging with his family at home; he also worked for John Bartkowski Sr. with Crivitz Sand and Gravel for nearly 20 years.

On June 19, 1976, John married Sylvia Kuester. They moved their young family to Roseburg, Ore. in 1982, where John went to work as a millwright at Roseburg Lumber Company.

In 1984, looking for somewhere "with more sunshine," John drove into Prescott, Ariz., and knew he had found the right place to raise his family. He found his perfect job in 1986 with Yavapai County Road Department where he loved running his John Deere backhoe. John retired in 2007.

A quiet-spoken man, John will be remembered for his positive, hard-working attitude, his warmth and his friendliness. John enjoyed the outdoors and especially loved cutting firewood. He also loved to putter around his acreage in Paulden, always working on a project, often enlisting his kids for some "brute strength and awkwardness." He was forever inventing new ways to do things.

John is survived by Sylvia Heidewald and their four children, Erich of Paulden, Dale of Prescott Valley, Ariz., Jenny of Baltimore, Md., and Shaina of Paulden. He also is survived by his brothers Kenneth of Crivitz, James of Chicago, Ill., and Donald of Crivitz; three nieces and five nephews. He was preceded in death by his infant sister, Joyce Lorraine, and his parents.

Services will be at a later date.

Arrangements by Chino Valley Funeral Home.

Information provided by survivors.