Valerie Eve Heise

Valerie Eve Mihalko Heise passed away at the age of 62 on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at CHI St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. 

Valerie was born in Landstuhl, Germany, to Edward Joseph Mihalko and Mary Elizabeth Vajdos Mihalko while Edward was stationed in the country with the U.S. Air Force. Ramstein Air Base had no OB department, so Mary went to a civilian hospital in nearby Landstuhl for Valerie’s delivery. She was the second-youngest of six children and credited her father for her work ethic and her mother for her determination. 

The family, Edward and Mary and Valerie’s five siblings Sharon, Linda, Tom, Diane and Eddie, settled in a smaller subdivision on the west side of San Antonio, Texas, near Lackland Air Force Base. Valerie loved their neighborhood. She grew up sharing a bedroom with her sister Diane and playing with her siblings and fellow neighborhood kids, riding bikes and going swimming. She bowled, an activity her father passed down to her, in a league from the ages of 8 to 18. She graduated from John Jay High School in San Antonio in 1981, where she played basketball and was best friends with Mary Hill. They stayed in touch throughout Valerie’s life. 

Following high school, she attended nursing school in San Antonio and graduated in June 1984 at the age of 21. What followed was a 41-year career working in a profession she was passionate about and loved. Valerie worked in every area of nursing she wanted to and even some she never knew existed. She was an excellent nurse. 

Valerie began her career working in labor and delivery in San Antonio. She met her first husband, Glenn Haroldson, as he was working security at a pool hall called Tiffany Billiards in San Antonio. Glenn was in the city in the U.S. Air Force. They married on Aug. 8, 1987, and later moved to Glenn’s home state of Wisconsin, where Valerie continued work in labor and delivery in Green Bay. The family lived in multiple spots across the state, with Valerie continuing nursing work in neonatal ICU and labor and delivery. They welcomed their daughter, Stephanie Lee Haroldson, on April 11, 1992. The growing family settled in Iola, Wisconsin. 

The pair eventually separated. Valerie served as an EMT on the Iola-Scandinavia ambulance service, where she met her second husband and love of her life, David Heise. They started out as friends and their love blossomed from there. They married in Las Vegas on Oct. 6, 2000. They welcomed their son, Kyle Edward Heise, on Sept. 23, 2002. Valerie also became a stepmother and grandmother to David’s children and grandchildren. This was a role she flourished in the rest of her life. 

She served for 19 years in the emergency department of ThedaCare Medical Center in Waupaca, Wisconsin. This was the hospital she loved most and where she made lifelong friends and relationships. Here she also served as the trauma coordinator, EMS coordinator and emergency preparedness coordinator. 

She was heavily involved in the lives of all her children, stepchildren and grandchildren, almost all of whom attended school at Iola-Scandinavia. She always attended recitals, school events and was certainly the loudest and proudest mother and grandmother in the stands at sporting events. She was the true matriarch of the family, always serving as the host with David for all family holidays and events throughout the year. She fiercely loved her family and would do anything to support them. 

After 30 years in patient care, she traded bedside care for the quality side of healthcare. She spent the last six years of her life serving as a clinical documentation specialist, ensuring quality in the documentation process at Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin. The last two years of her work she completed while undergoing treatment for Stage IV cancer. Throughout her life, Valerie had battled three bouts of breast cancer, one bout of endometrial cancer and underwent four back surgeries. She epitomized strength and truly loved her work. 

In 2021, upon Kyle’s graduation from high school, Valerie and David made the move to Navasota, Texas, to support Kyle’s dream of attending Texas A&M University. There are lots of Aggies on Valerie’s side of the family, and Valerie and David wholeheartedly supported Kyle’s endeavor to become the next one. Their sacrifice and willingness to support him was admired. 

In the four years she returned to Texas, she spent lots of time with her Texas family, especially her sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Bill Heathcott, who also resided in Navasota. These days were filled with lots of visiting, swimming, competitive shuffleboard and ping pong, and when Valerie became sick, lots and lots of games of the dice-rolling game Farkle. Every Wednesday night was spent at Bill and Linda’s, where they’d share a meal, games and visit. These days were special to Valerie. 

In the summer of 2023, Valerie was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. The cancer had spread to her bones and liver, and she fought through years of chemotherapy, multiple treatments and hospitalizations, and general discomfort and pain. It was her goal to see Kyle graduate from Texas A&M, which she accomplished on May 8, 2025, when she was in the front row of Reed Arena in College Station to see her son walk the stage. That was one of her proudest moments. 

The summer of 2025 saw a decrease in her health and, after a hospitalization in August, she retired from her longtime career as a registered nurse to focus on her health and family. She returned to St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in Bryan, Texas, with pain on Thursday, Sept. 11, and passed comfortably in the early morning of Friday, Sept. 19, after days of visits from family. Some of the last words to her family were “I love you.” 

She will leave an unfillable hole in the lives of all who knew her, but her strength, determination, fire and her fierce love for her family and beliefs will be remembered by all. We will all continue to love and miss her but know that her pain has been relieved. May we all live our lives in her example, loving with passion and the unshakable determination to support her family. 

Valerie was preceded in death by her parents, Edward Joseph Mihalko and Mary Elizabeth Vajdos Mihalko. She is survived by lots of family and friends, including her husband David Heise, her children Kyle Edward Heise and Stephanie Lee Haroldson, her stepchildren Julie Kamke, Carl Heise, Tim Heise, Sarah Klotzbuecher and Jessica Heise, her grandchildren Nolan Hoyord, Taryn Hoyord, Leighton Nelson, Brynn Nelson, Brayden Erickson, Zachary Erickson, Cody Heise, Trevor Heise, Caleb Heise, Jasmine Heise and William Heise, great-grandchildren, her siblings Sharon Doramus, Linda Heathcott, Diane Breffeilh, Tom Mihalko and Edward Mihalko, and many, many more loved ones. 

A celebration of life will be held at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at Lindley-Robertson-Holt Funeral Home in Navasota. A future service will be held in Wisconsin. Her ashes will eventually be spread at her and David’s longtime property in central Wisconsin. 

We will miss her everyday. Thank you for keeping her memory alive.