Veronica S Heggem

Veronica Sue Heggem 73, went home to her Lord on September 3, 2026, at 4 pm, at her home in DeLand, Florida, surrounded by her family, after a year-long fight with lung cancer.She was born July 24, 1953, in Goody, Pike County Kentucky, the daughter of Loretta Smith Stuart and the late Marvin Blair Stuart Sr., and she was raised in Williamson, West Virginia in a railroad family.She raised three sons, and in 1981 she met and married Alvin Heggem in Renton, Washington. Over the years, the family lived coast to coast- Florida to New York and most of what lies between - until 1988, when she and Alvin settled in Dayton, Ohio, and stayed for thirty -seven years. Alvin preceded her in death on August 5, 2025.She spent most of her working life in retail, where she was the kind of clerk who remembered your name, your kids, and what you came in for the last time. In the 1990s, she earned her certification as a jeweler, and she took real pride in it- the fine work, the steady hands, the ring somebody would come back to pick up and hold like it was new again.She loved three things without reservation: her God, her family, and her dogs - and there were a lot of dogs, most of them somebody's cast-off; every one of them certain it was the favorite.She was Ronnie to many, and to many more she had a special name. If you were lucky enough to call her Mawmaw, then you knew life with her came with many stories. Including when she left Garrett at a rest station on US35 because she believed he was in the back seat sleeping prior to continuing to Williamson, West Virginia. He never let her forget it.After Alvin passed, she came to DeLand, Florida to live with her son Brian and daughter-in-law Jill, and to fight the cancer. She fought it for a year - at home, at her own table, with her family around her and a dog at her feet - and she never once made it anyone else's burden.
In addition to her husband and her father, she was preceded in death by her brothers Marvin "Butch" Stuart Jr. and David E "Stickweed" Stuart.She is survived by her mother, Loretta Smith Stuart of Pikeville, Kentucky; her sons, Brian (Jill) Heggem of DeLand, Florida, Timothy James (Angelique) Heggem of Tokyo, Japan, and Jerry Dwayne (Michelle) Heggem of Dayton, Ohio; grandchildren, Brian Heggem Jr., Garrett Jaxon (Niki) Heggem, Keanu Heggem. Raven (Christian) Rivera, Lillian Heggem, and Nova Heggem; great grandchildren, Violet Elaine Heggem and Bennet Ambrose Rivera; brother, Jerry (Anita) Stuart of Williamson, West Virginia; sister, Lora Stuart Shortt of Columbia, South Carolina, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who were family all the same.Gathering of family and friends will be Wednesday, September 16th, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Volusia Memorial Funeral Home in Ormond Beach, FloridaIn lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made in Veronica's honor to the local animal rescue, humane society, or a local church to honor of Veronica's love for animals and that she never once turned away a stray.