Richard J. Heltemes

A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, St. Cloud, Minnesota on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 11 a.m. for Richard J. Heltemes, 76, of Kent, WA. Visitation will be held one hour before services. Rick passed away in Tacoma, WA on April 14, 2023 from complications following heart surgery.

Rick was born on July 9, 1946 in St. Cloud to Earl and Gertrude (Halupzok) Heltemes. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1964. Rick went on to graduate from St. Cloud State College, followed by 2 years in the United States Army. After an Honorable Discharge, he went on to earn a Master’s Degree and his MBA. He worked for Boeing Company in Seattle, WA until his retirement in 2010.

Rick’s favorite pastime was playing golf. The main reason he didn’t return to Minnesota after his retirement was because he could play golf more months out of the year in Washington state. In retirement, he volunteered as a marshal for The Riverbend Golf Course near his home in Kent. He loved watching professional golf, baseball and football games. Much to his family’s dismay, he became a big Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners fan.

Every year, with the exception of the COVID years, he traveled back to Minnesota for the great Minnesota State Fair. At the end of a long day at the fair, he came back with more pamphlets and free merchandise than the rest of the family put together!

Rick will be greatly missed by his family, including his brother, Gary Heltemes and Gary’s wife, Debby; his niece, Kristy Yurczyk and her husband, Tim; his nephew, Chad Heltemes and great-niece, Greta Yurczyk.

Inurnment will be in Assumption Cemetery, St. Cloud, at a later date.