Tim Heaps

Teasdale, Utah - Our beloved son, brother, uncle and friend, Timothy Lell Heaps, age 61, of Chatsworth, California and formerly of Teasdale, Utah, died August 30, 2013 in Simi Valley, California, after a brave and valiant battle with a brain tumor. He was born March 30, 1952 in Salina, Utah, a son of William Lell and Ann Maxfield Heaps. He graduated from Wayne High School, Class of 1970. He attended Snow College in Ephraim and Utah State University in Logan. Tim worked at JPL on the Mars Rover Project and won the 1994 Rockwell Engineer of the Year Award and was honored by the Wall Street Journal as a true visionary, that did not just see the future, he made it happen. He worked on the heart pacemaker, International Space Station and Mars Rover and various other Aerospace projects. Tim's life was in the stars. He was a member of the IEEE Advanced Technology for Humanity Organization. He enjoyed star gazing, hang gliding, scuba diving, sailing and running. He was a HAM Radio Operator and loved communicating with the world. He was a member of the LDS Church, serving in the scouting program. Tim was always surrounded and loved by his family who looked to him for leadership after the passing of our Dad. He is survived by his mother, Ann Heaps of Teasdale; sisters and brother: Cynthia J. and Albert Medina of Chatsworth, California; Beverly A. and Bryant Davis of High Point, North Carolina; Karen M. and Paul Cloward of Herriman; LaWanda Heaps of Riverton; William Bryan Heaps of Mancelona, Michigan; Loralee and Jim Darden of Cedar Park, Texas; 18 nieces and nephews who learned much about the universe and their place in it, from Uncle Tim. He was preceded in death by his father, William Lell Heaps. Memorial services were held in California. His remains have been cremated and burial will take place back in his home town, the place that he loved, at a later date in the Teasdale Cemetery under the care of the Springer Turner Funeral Home of Richfield and Salina, Utah.