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In Memory of
Mary
Heer (Brimeyer)
Heer (Brimeyer)
1932 - 2017
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Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Funeral Home and Crematory
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Obituary for Mary Heer (Brimeyer)
Mary Adele Heer, 84, of Dubuque died peacefully surrounded by family members on January 1, 2017, at Bethany Home.
Funeral services will be on Friday, January 6 at 10:00 AM at St. Anthony Catholic Church. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Key West. Friends may call from 3 to 7 PM Thursday, January 5 at Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Westview Funeral Home & Crematory, 2659 JFK Road, Dubuque.
Mary Adele was born on June 24, 1932 in North Buena Vista, Iowa, the third child of Walter and Catherine (Klaas) Brimeyer. She grew up in “Buenie,” but moved to Dubuque to live with relatives and attend high school at the Immaculate Conception Academy, where she graduated in 1949. She worked at Meadow Gold Dairy and at Taylor Pharmacy after high school. Years later, she returned to Taylor until her retirement.
She met Carl Heer at the Walnut Tap in Dubuque, where she was playing piano and he asked her to play “Peg O’ My Heart.” They married in July 1952 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Buenie and subsequently had 7 children. Over the next 65 years she was the devoted matriarch of an expanding and boisterous family, for whom she was a constant source of love, support, faith, and Buenie heritage. Mary and Carl made the family home a place where anyone and everyone were welcome. With a large family, this made for no small number of interesting and colorful guests. Mary Adele was a longtime member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, where she gave frequently of her time and talents for many years.
She had a passion for playing the piano for others. She played by ear and could play hundreds of songs from memory. She often played at local venues, private parties, and many multi-generational New Year’s Eve parties at the family home on Kirkwood. She was also a quietly fierce euchre player.
After Carl died suddenly in 1986, Mary enjoyed spending time with her children and their spouses, her growing band of grandchildren, and other relatives and friends. She eventually crossed paths with an old acquaintance, Merlin Houselog, and they married in 1998, adding Merle's 8 children and their families to her extended family. This new twice-as-large family kept Mary and Merle busy . Mary and Merle enjoyed visiting local elder care facilities to play and sing for residents. They were also great dancers. Unfortunately, Merle died suddenly in 2008. She then returned to the longtime Heer family home on Kirkwood Street, eventually moving to Bethany Home in the spring of 2011, where she resided until her death.
She is survived by her children and grandchildren, Steve (Sandy) Heer and sons Nick and Luke; Joel (Kristi) Heer and daughter Grace Adele; David (Nan) Heer and daughters Melissa and Michelle (Kyle Berg); Tim Heer and children Jacob, Cristina, Micah, Zane, and Jonah; Paul Heer; Janet Heer and children Marisa and Armand; and Susan (George) Limberg and children Jill, Brett, and Evan; sister Norma Murray, brother-in-law Russell (Jean) Heer; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to Carl and Merle, Mary Adele was also preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Catherine Brimeyer; brother Leon (Grace) Brimeyer; and in-laws James Murray, Ann (Joe) Mills, Roma Heer, Eleanor Roberts, Joe (Esther) Heer, Bert (Ruth) Heer, Martin (Ruth) Heer, and Robert Heer.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Mary Adele’s name to St. Anthony Catholic Church, Holy Family Schools, Bethany Home, Hospice, or a charity of your choice.
The family wants to thank Bethany Home for their exceptional loving care for Mom over the past years, and the staff at Hospice of Dubuque, especially Kristin and Suzanne, for their care and support of Mary and our family in the past weeks.
Funeral services will be on Friday, January 6 at 10:00 AM at St. Anthony Catholic Church. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Key West. Friends may call from 3 to 7 PM Thursday, January 5 at Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Westview Funeral Home & Crematory, 2659 JFK Road, Dubuque.
Mary Adele was born on June 24, 1932 in North Buena Vista, Iowa, the third child of Walter and Catherine (Klaas) Brimeyer. She grew up in “Buenie,” but moved to Dubuque to live with relatives and attend high school at the Immaculate Conception Academy, where she graduated in 1949. She worked at Meadow Gold Dairy and at Taylor Pharmacy after high school. Years later, she returned to Taylor until her retirement.
She met Carl Heer at the Walnut Tap in Dubuque, where she was playing piano and he asked her to play “Peg O’ My Heart.” They married in July 1952 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Buenie and subsequently had 7 children. Over the next 65 years she was the devoted matriarch of an expanding and boisterous family, for whom she was a constant source of love, support, faith, and Buenie heritage. Mary and Carl made the family home a place where anyone and everyone were welcome. With a large family, this made for no small number of interesting and colorful guests. Mary Adele was a longtime member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, where she gave frequently of her time and talents for many years.
She had a passion for playing the piano for others. She played by ear and could play hundreds of songs from memory. She often played at local venues, private parties, and many multi-generational New Year’s Eve parties at the family home on Kirkwood. She was also a quietly fierce euchre player.
After Carl died suddenly in 1986, Mary enjoyed spending time with her children and their spouses, her growing band of grandchildren, and other relatives and friends. She eventually crossed paths with an old acquaintance, Merlin Houselog, and they married in 1998, adding Merle's 8 children and their families to her extended family. This new twice-as-large family kept Mary and Merle busy . Mary and Merle enjoyed visiting local elder care facilities to play and sing for residents. They were also great dancers. Unfortunately, Merle died suddenly in 2008. She then returned to the longtime Heer family home on Kirkwood Street, eventually moving to Bethany Home in the spring of 2011, where she resided until her death.
She is survived by her children and grandchildren, Steve (Sandy) Heer and sons Nick and Luke; Joel (Kristi) Heer and daughter Grace Adele; David (Nan) Heer and daughters Melissa and Michelle (Kyle Berg); Tim Heer and children Jacob, Cristina, Micah, Zane, and Jonah; Paul Heer; Janet Heer and children Marisa and Armand; and Susan (George) Limberg and children Jill, Brett, and Evan; sister Norma Murray, brother-in-law Russell (Jean) Heer; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to Carl and Merle, Mary Adele was also preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Catherine Brimeyer; brother Leon (Grace) Brimeyer; and in-laws James Murray, Ann (Joe) Mills, Roma Heer, Eleanor Roberts, Joe (Esther) Heer, Bert (Ruth) Heer, Martin (Ruth) Heer, and Robert Heer.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Mary Adele’s name to St. Anthony Catholic Church, Holy Family Schools, Bethany Home, Hospice, or a charity of your choice.
The family wants to thank Bethany Home for their exceptional loving care for Mom over the past years, and the staff at Hospice of Dubuque, especially Kristin and Suzanne, for their care and support of Mary and our family in the past weeks.
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