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Thomas "Tom" Heald

Thomas Heald Obituary

RAPID CITY – Thomas "Tom" Heald, 37, Rapid City, died Monday, May 4, 2009, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. He was born June 2, 1972, in Rapid City, the son of Jim and Shirley (Johannes) Heald. He grew up in Rapid City and graduated from Stevens High School in 1989. Tom worked with his father as a survey assistant and was a columnist for the Rapid City Weekly. He had been a member of the Senior DeMolay. Tom loved playing trivia games and contests, liked working with his computer and watching movies. Survivors include his parents, Jim and Shirley Heald and a brother, Tim Heald, all of Rapid City; aunts and uncles, Ken and Donna Heald and Phylis and Fernando Gomez, all of Green Valley, AZ, and Jerry Johannes, Huron; and nephew and niece, Tyler and Victoria Heald, Box Elder. Visitation will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at the Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, May 8, at the South Canyon Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Bruce Thalacker officiating. Burial will be at the Mt. View Cemetery. Memorials have been established for the Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association. Friends may sign the online guest register and offer condolences at www.osheimschmidt.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Rapid City Journal on May 6, 2009.

Memories and Condolences
for Thomas Heald

22 Entries

Carl Peterson

June 4, 2009

My deepest heartfelt sympathy goes out, to the family of Tom Heald.
He made daily entries, of his column with, Rural Gay Yahoo Group. He is missed much.
It saddens me much, to hear of his untimely death, at such a young vibrant age, of 39

David Bohrman

May 14, 2009

As the original creator of World News Now, I have been reading Tom's posts as long as anybody. Tom and a couple of others were the viewers we KNEW were out there... They watched everything we did.. they NOTICED everything we did.... from cities in the Weather crawl, to slight jokes in the credits, to the Wolrd News Now Temperature index.... Tom saw it and got it...

I am sad we never met....

Tom Scott

May 12, 2009

Tom's friends far and wide, both physically present and those far away in the internet world are so saddened and will keep you all in our thoughts.

Daniel Curzon

May 12, 2009

What a shame!

Jade Esteban Estrada

May 12, 2009

I am stunned and deeply saddened to hear of Tom's death. He was a great leader in the movement to educate the public about world history and the history of the LGBT community. We have lost a great voice in the modern civil rights movement.

Karla Robinson

May 11, 2009

Tom was the most prolific and important contributor to the tvornottv google group. We are lost without him; his humor, his encyclopedic memory of TV trivia, his daily entries about what was worth watching--he was the glue that kept our group together. Though many of us never met or spoke with him, he was beloved by us and we are very, very sorry for your loss.

Sarah Canter

May 11, 2009

As one of the many, many, folks who enjoyed Tom's writing over the years, I want to offer my sincere condolences to his family. He was very gifted as a writer, and I was glad to be able to share in his talent.

Jason Coleman

May 11, 2009

Tom did a slew of terrific reviews for our little site - we were truly honored to have him as a contributor.

We've set up a tribute article - you can check it out at the links below.

Home Page (w/pics and description):
http://www.the213.net/

Article:
http://www.the213.net/php/article.php?id=1658

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in his family - he will be missed.

Sincerely,

Jason Coleman
Senior Entertainment Editor The213.net
[email protected]

May 10, 2009

Jim and Shirley We are down in Utah and sorry to hear about your son Tom. My Prayers are with you both.

Darold Petersen

May 9, 2009

Yo Tom, he was great on the wnn group and we will miss him. His wit and great humor kept us all informed, may his voice live on forever.

Nate Holman

May 8, 2009

The good die young. I met Tom thru my wife Nonie Johns. Tom always showed up early for our parties and always had a "so bad it's good" present in hand. Tom, you gave us much joy. You will long be remembered. We share our prayers, sorrow and gratitude for Tom's passing our way to his family and all those who loved him.

Jeremiah O'Neill

May 8, 2009

I was deeply saddened and indeed shocked to hear of Thomas' passing. He was a very outspoken, and intelligent man. I recall sitting with him over coffee for hours on end talking about pop culture and obscure trivia, and him trying to stump me with his vast library of knowledge. I would run into him, at the video store, or the coffee shop and engage him in a witty conversation on the current movies out, with him providing better suggestions as to what he thought I should view, LOL, and before I knew it; an hour had passed. I will miss him, and my thoughts and prayers are with his mother, father, brother, and everyone else who was fortunate enough to know him during his brief time with us.

Terry Johnson

May 8, 2009

The world has lost a GREAT friend and I can not imagine the depths of the loss that Tom's family is experiencing. Please know that Tom touched so many in such a positive way and he will live on in the lives of those whom he touched and made their lives so much better. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Colum Sorensen

May 7, 2009

Tom was one of the kindest, most brilliant and, dedicated people I have ever known. My life is better for having known him.

My heart is heavy in sharing your loss. Know that even as there is a void in your lives there is a greater hole in the community and causes to which Tom committed himself in service.

To better days my friend.

Duncan

May 7, 2009

I am a member of one of the Yahoo groups to which Tom contributed his regular articles and occasionally he would 'break character' and enter conversations as a real time member of the group.

There's always an element of wanting to have known someone 'more' when something this sudden happens.

LOve,
Duncan

Jon Delfin

May 7, 2009

I am so sorry to hear this. Tom and I spent many years working together on television reportage long-distance via e-mail and telephone, and I was delighted to finally meet him when he attended a conference in NYC. I will miss the banter. All good thoughts to you.

Bob & Dave Cozzoinger

May 6, 2009

We of the Lambda Rainbow Network - share in your loss of Thomas Heald. His columns for our GLBT Network - were enlightning and educational for GLBT Members of all ages in Cities, States, Provinces, Territories, Countries & Continents World-Wide. We hope to continue to post his work in the future for they are timeless.
Bob & Dave
[email protected]
Founders of the LAMBDA RAINBOW NETWORK !

Lorene Bissenden

May 6, 2009

My heartfelt sympathy to the family of Tom Heald. I was a classmate of his father, Jim, in 1956. While Jim surveyed my property, I met Tom for the first time. What a charming, delightful person he was. I enjoyed his bright wit and great sense of humor. He also wrote a great column for the Rapid City Weekly.
So sorry for his family's loss.
Lorene Bissenden, Rapid City, SD

Brenda Luedtke

May 6, 2009

Heald Family,
My thoughts and prayers are with you all during this time of sorrow. May God help your family to find peace with his passing.

Tom Ecker

May 6, 2009

As a former teacher of Tom's, I haven't forgotten his highly creative mind and warm personality. He was the kind of person who made this world a more fascinating place in which to live. I am very sorry to hear of his passing. May God comfort Tom in heaven, and also provide the Heald family with a sense of peace.

Brenda Meier

May 6, 2009

Tim,
I am so sorry to hear of Tom's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

LES BUSCH

May 6, 2009

TIM I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LOSS OF YOUR BROTHER MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYRS ARE WITH YOU

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