Robert "Butch" Heiter

Dates

Obituary

Robert “Butch” Heiter, 75, of Glendive, MT, our “Old Pard”, peacefully rode over his last hill on Friday, January 10, 2025, at the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls. Memorial services will be at 2:00 PM Saturday, May 3, at Bittner Funeral Chapel, with visitation one hour prior. Burial will be at St. Mary of Mercy Catholic Cemetery.

Robert “Butch” Heiter was born on February 5, 1949, in Mitchell, South Dakota, the first child of Merle and Lois (Robertson) Heiter of Alexandria, SD. He grew up on the family farm south of Alexandria, joined later by siblings Roger, Ronald, and Diane. Family lore is he was given his forever-lasting nickname of “Butch” as an infant by our uncle Clarence “Sonny” Heiter. The tough guy nickname aligned perfectly with his lifelong personality.  

Butch attended and completed elementary school at the Buelah Township one-room country school, alongside his brothers and neighbor farm children. He graduated in 1967 from Alexandria High School, where he was remembered for his many friendships, and recognized for his abilities and toughness on the school football team. After graduation, he worked in the automobile production industry in the Detroit, MI area for a brief time before entering the US Army in 1968. 

Butch’s service in the US Army in Viet Nam would come to be a defining event in his life. After his initial boot camp training, he completed a series of aviation maintenance and repair courses at Ft. Eustis, VA., eventually attaining the rank of E5, as a helicopter rotor technician. He was deployed in 1968 to Chu Lia, Viet Nam, assigned to the 123 Aviation Battalion, Americal Division. The infamous North Vietnamese Tet Offensive occurred during his deployment.

After his honorable discharge from the US Army, Butch returned to South Dakota. In time he met his long-term soul mate, Patty Schulz, their daughter Tandy was born in 1973. Butch then spent the remainder of his life working in the great outdoors of western America. His many skills ranged from lumberjack, truck driver and heavy equipment operator, miner, oil roughneck, big game guide and other related occupations. His life’s road led him from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the deep forests of Oregon, then on to the mines, oil patch, and majestic mountains of Alaska. Eventually, he and his wife Vicky returned to her family area in the mountains of California. 

Butch will probably be best remembered as the guy who never met a stranger. His life was very much impacted by both his exposure in Viet Nam to Agent Orange toxins, and more recently understood, a range of issues associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).   

He is survived by his prior listed siblings, three grandchildren, multiple cousins, nieces and one nephew. He also leaves behind a wide array of friends and associates. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Vicky, and daughter Tandy.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider a donation to any of a myriad of available on-line Veteran’s Charities or the Tunnels to Towers Foundation (T2T.org).

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