Charles “Chuck” Heermans passed away peacefully in his home in Mesa, Arizona Jan. 10. Chuck was born Nov. 12, 1948.
He is survived by his sister Patience Martin (and her five children); sister Holly Smith (and her three children); brother John Heermans (and his four children); his son Jake Heermans and his wife Linsey; his son Matthew Heermans; and five grandsons, Brandon, Duncan, Kevin, Cameron and Logan.
His sons and grandsons all live in the Phoenix area, close to Chuck’s house in Mesa.
Chuck “The Loder” Heermans was naturally gifted as a football quarterback. He played the position throughout Pop Warner in Rumson and starred at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, where he graduated in 1966. He was also on the basketball team at RFH and played Little League and Pony League baseball in Rumson. He lived and breathed sports right to the end where he passed away in his easy chair watching basketball.
When he could no longer compete in team sports he switched to bike riding and hiking in the Superstition Mountains outside Apache Junction where he resided for many years before moving to Mesa.
Chuck lived a simple life. He liked to sit on his favorite benches around Phoenix and read. He loved music, especially free concerts. He preferred watching live high school and college ball games to watching on TV. He would often pick up on the spur of the moment and go on road trips to Los Angeles or his favorite haunts in Arizona. He rode his bicycle everywhere and would stop to talk to people all day long. He didn’t care about material things. His “things” were his family (his “boyz”), his friends, his Christian faith and his various projects to make the world a better place to live. He had a knack for words and could tell you the number of letters in a sentence as soon as you said it. He was a whiz at Scrabble.
Chuck’s life was celebrated and honored in a simple ceremony Jan. 15 in a light rain, at dusk in the Superstition Mountains near Apache Junction, attended by his sons, daughter-in-law, grandsons, brother and nephew.
Rest in peace grandpa, bro, uncle, friend. You were an original “piece of work” with a heart of gold. Another memorial will be held in Rumson sometime in July to allow other family members and friends to celebrate his life.
