Peggy Huppert retired as the executive director of NAMI Iowa in 2023 after 43 years serving nonprofits as a communications, development, government relations and executive director. She has been active in Democratic politics since 1984.

It is the task of a good man to help those in misfortune. -Sophocles

Dave Heaton was the definition of a Good Man.

He lived his life with honor and in service. He was loyal, hard working and dedicated. He was compassionate and empathetic. He followed through with things to the end. He didn’t care about praise or recognition. He cared about helping others.

Dave left this world on February 12 at the age of 84. He will be remembered and missed by many, including some you might not expect.

On the surface, Dave and I would seem to be an odd pair. He was a small town (Mt. Pleasant) business owner (restaurant) Republican legislator. I am an urban/suburban nonprofit professional and a Democrat. We are 18 years apart in age. Yet we were often like two peas in a pod, working on important issues like cancer and mental health at the legislature. We genuinely liked each other, and it showed.

I’ll never forget one time we were meeting in a corner of the House lounge, intently going over some cancer budget issue, and a House colleague walked up, startling us.

“You two sure are thick as thieves,” he said, somewhat suspiciously.

Dave looked up at him over his glasses with a grin and chortled. “Yup, we are.”

I think about that interaction many years ago and smile, because it reminds me of his true nature. He was often deadly serious, but he could also be mischievous and funny.

He was grumpy at times (I think mostly out of frustration) and was an expert at intimidating people he didn’t want to talk to, but those who knew him well knew he had a heart of gold, which he wore on his sleeve. (I once observed to him that he could be like a grumpy old bear. He smiled and said, “Peg, my growl can be pretty bad. But I don’t bite.”)

As the longtime co-chair of the Iowa Health & Human Services Joint Appropriations Subcommittee, he had more influence and did more good for more Iowans than most legislators could ever hope to. Year after year he shepherded the largest chunk of the state budget, balancing hundreds of interests.

He worked across the aisle on countless initiatives to make Iowans’ lives better. He cared the most about people who needed help the most, whether that was cancer patients or kids without health insurance or people sitting in jail with a serious mental illness.

He visited hundreds of nonprofits and state programs across the state on his own dime to learn about them and get to know their leaders. He spent many, many hours with both legislative and Department of Human Services (now Health and Human Services) staff to understand the ins and outs of the budgets and programs. We used to say that Dave had more knowledge in his pinkie about health and human service programs than all of his colleagues combined.

I worked with him closely on both cancer and mental health issues. When I was with the Cancer Society I kept inviting him and Democratic State Senator Jack Hatch, then his Health and Human Services Joint Appropriations co-chair, to visit the Hope Lodge in Iowa City. It had recently opened and was our pride and joy, serving cancer patients who were receiving treatment at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

(Because at the time, low-income, uninsured Iowans from every county except Polk had to travel to Iowa City for treatment covered by the state, we heard repeated stories of people sleeping in their cars or on a cot in a church basement, or camping in parks, because they couldn’t afford hotel rooms. The Hope Lodge provides free lodging and food to patients and a family member.)

I kept after it, and in the summer of 2009 Dave and Jack came for a tour of the Hope Lodge. They met guests, staff and volunteers and asked many questions. I could tell that Dave’s emotions were close to the surface several times during the hour-long visit, but I didn’t really see it until it was time for them to go.

At the door Dave clutched both my hands with his and, with tears in his eyes, said “Peg, thank you for staying after me to do this tour. I learned so much and am so impressed by what the Cancer Society is doing here. You are saving lives.”

Then he hugged me, and made me cry.

Another Dave story I’ll always remember is when we both attended and spoke at a party in 2017 honoring Chuck Palmer upon his retirement (for the second time) as the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services. As we were leaving, going down the elevator together, Dave looked at me and said, “I’m afraid the days of the people who were in that room just now working together across the aisle to make Iowa a better place are over Peg.”

He looked so sad, and I could understand why. Because he was right. He saw it coming.

In retirement Chuck and Dave served together on the board of NAMI Iowa (the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness) and always sat next to each other at meetings. They became infamous for their near-constant back and forth and very loud whispering. That was pre-COVID and pre-Zoom, when we had a conference phone in the middle of the board table for members joining remotely.

I would have members on the phone ask me, “What is that background noise I’m always hearing?” I would respond, “That would be Chuck and Dave.” They were incorrigible. And they were appreciated, revered and loved for their passion and dedication.

Chuck and Dave are both now gone, and our state and country are poorer for it.

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Top photo of State Representative Dave Heaton listening to a Condition of the State address was provided by the Heaton family and published with permission.

Dave Heaton’s obituary includes details on the visitation and funeral planned for February 28 and March 1 in Mount Pleasant. It notes, “Memorial funds have been established for St. Alphonsus Vincent de Paul fund which exists to provide assistance to members of our Mount Pleasant community who may find themselves in financial hardship; as well as Mount Pleasant Kiwanis for projects benefiting local children.”