Richard D. Heywood, affectionately known as Dick to family and friends, passed away at the age of 90 on February 13, 2025, at the Good Samaritan Society-Auburn.

On a muddy day, September 1, 1934, Mabel Lavina Adams found herself in labor, while Everett Eldon Heywood called for the doctor. The doctor, unable to reach their home because of the mud, required the assistance of Everett, who had to leave his wife’s side to pick up the physician and race him back to deliver Richard.

Dick was united in marriage to Janyce Bohling on November 23, 1956. They were married by Pastor Kolm in the Hickory Grove Lutheran Church, a marriage that would span 68 years during his lifetime. They had 4 children and 12 grandchildren. These include: daughter, Debbie Klotz, her children, Nathan, John, and Amy; son, Mark Heywood, his children Ashley, Amanda, and Grant; son, Michael Heywood, and his child Cade; and daughter Kristy Mertes, her children Kelli, Ryan, Trent, Lindsey, and Kara. Dick loved his wife and he also dearly loved his children and grandchildren. His love for his grandchildren took him on many road trips attending games and activities.

Dick attended Brush College country school and Peru Prep, (for his early education) and later Peru State College where he graduated in 1958. He took his first teaching position in the village of Barneston, Nebraska. Dick later obtained a teaching job in Dunbar, Nebraska. After a few years, Dick returned to Auburn, Nebraska, accepting a teaching position in Nebraska City at the Nebraska School for the Visually Handicapped in 1963, where he remained until his retirement in 1999.

Richard always told you the truth, even if it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. He was known for his lack of patience, not holding back his opinion, and for his knack for telling it how he saw it.

Famously opinionated and short-tempered, he referred to some as “Bozo”, and was very comfortable in bluntly (and loudly) giving coaches and referees plenty of advice. He was a highly proficient writer of stern letters when he was not happy, and the author of many humorous annual Christmas letters filled with the past year’s events that highlighted his wife, children, and grandchildren. His Christmas letters will be missed by the masses he distributed them to. He was a connoisseur of butterfingers, black licorice, and lots of soda. He was generous to a fault, and yet he sugar- coated absolutely nothing. To quote Winston Churchill: “He was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Dick took fashion advice from no one. With his trademark white t-shirts and strategically coiffed comb-over, his comfort far outweighed any interest in the latest fashion trends.

His hobbies in life can be summarized into three main categories: the outdoors, beagles, and sports. His farm in Peru was his peace. He loved nothing more than to be outdoors tending to his critters. He would feed his chickens, ducks, beagles, walkers, cats, cows, and would still make time to consider the foxes when he would leave dog food out for them as well. He was so gentle he would never harm a spider... Instead of using his boot, he would rather grab a jar and escort them outside his own home to safety. Richard was a member of the Beagle Club and prided himself on his farm pets. He may have never wanted to show them the affection of a pet, but he had a name for every one of his animals. Sports were always a conversation staple for him.

Naturally, he was a die-hard Huskers fan. He was the first to call a bad play, and would sometimes chuck his, “Bad call brick” at the television set along with an, “Oh goll, that was a terrible call!”. He would watch anything from football, baseball, wrestling, horse racing, bull riding, and everything in between. This obsession with sports turned him into quite the night owl, with many late phone calls to his family and friends to discuss these matters with. These three things gave him peace.

Preceding Dick in death were his parents Everett and Mabel Heywood, brother, Glen Heywood, and sister, Norma “Jean” Allen. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by many friends, neighbors, and coworkers, but especially missed by his wife, children, grandchildren, and the “Bozos.”