Kenneth L Heller

Kenneth Lee Heller, age 82, of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, died on October 26, 2022, at his home, surrounded by family. A funeral service will be held on Monday, October 31, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at New Beginnings Church of the Nazarene with Pastors Jon Simpson, Giles Armstrong, and Cliff Transmeier officiating. Burial will be at the Powhattan, Ohio Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, November 4, with a celebration of life immediately to follow at the Shadyside Church of the Nazarene. Online condolences for the family may be left at www.dugankramer.com

Ken was born March 24, 1940, in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Franklin C and Elizabeth (Witzgall) Heller, and received his early education at Triadelphia Elementary. He attended Shadyside High School, but elected to honorably serve his country in the United States Navy when he was 17. He later received his GED through the United States Navy, and attended Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs, graduating in 1970 with a ministerial degree.

On July 9, 1960, Ken was united in marriage to the love of his life, Georgiarose Howell, at the Church of the Nazarene in Shadyside, Ohio. The couple moved many times throughout their marriage, starting in New Port, Rhode Island until 1961, when Ken was honorably discharged from the Navy. They moved to Shadyside, Ohio, where Ken worked in the family business, Heller’s Florist and Greenhouse, until 1967. During this time, their two daughters, Stephanie (1962) and Debra (1965) were born. It was in 1965 that Ken had the life-changing experience of accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Shortly thereafter, he felt called to full-time ministry, and set off to attend Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs. His ministry career took the family from there to Viborg, South Dakota (1970-1972); LaMoure, North Dakota (1972-1977); Dickinson, North Dakota (1977-1982); and finally, Scottsbluff, Nebraska from 1982 until the present. He pastored many Nazarene churches along the way in these cities, and even helped build the Church of the Nazarene in Scottsbluff.

Retiring from his ministry in 1998, Ken started his own remodeling/handyman business, “Ken’s Total Independence”, which he ran successfully for the next decade, and would have done so longer, if it hadn’t been for a loss of mobility in his legs that came about suddenly one morning. He was diagnosed with Gillian Barre Disease, but was able to continue on in a wheelchair for the next eight and half years while optimistic that he would be able to heal and regain the ability to walk. Although he never did, he also never complained, and was always brave in the face of this adversity. His hope endured until the end.

Ken’s ministry was the most important thing to him, second only to his family. He had a true passion for life and sharing that abundant joy with his loved ones. There was always a smile on his face—unless one of the kids was in trouble! That smile and Ken’s light will be dearly missed by all those who knew and loved him.

Survivors include his wife, Georgiarose; daughters, Stephanie (George) Heller Blanton and Debra (Ron) Heller Trapp; grandchildren, Thomas C (Amanda) Thompson, Kenneth L Carson, Morgan B. (Mitch) Carson Schieferle, and Steven A. Thompson; great-grandchildren, Sophia A. Thompson, Grayson C. Thompson, and Miles Schieferle; brothers, Ralph (Patricia) Heller and Richard Heller; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Preceding him in death are his parents, Franklin and Elizabeth Heller; brothers, Charles and Edgar Heller; and sister, Catherine Heller-Lectrovitz.