Matt Heilman living his eternal life
May 10, 2018
By DYLAN KONICEK
The Mirror reporter
On Tuesday, March 20, 2018, we lost someone amazing. Matthew Heilman was a football coach and teacher who had died due to complications after surgery. Heilman will be missed by all in the Stevens Point and Green Bay area but most of all his parents Beverly and Dan Heilman, brother, Ben Heilman, his dog and best buddy Dozer, and many other family and friends.
Heilman graduated from Green Bay Southwest High School in 1999 and then attended St. Norbert College in De Pere. For the last 10 years, he worked for the Stevens Point Area School District as a social studies teacher and coached SPASH football, which he loved very much.
Heilman loved football, basketball, baseball, golf, and WWE. His favorite teams were the Packers, the Bucks, the Brewers, and the Badgers. You can tell he only loved the teams close to home.
“Mr. Heilman was truly one in a million. I’m not a huge fan of history and he knew that from the first day I was in his class. He was able to make each lesson relatable and interesting for me. I’ve never had a teacher care for his students as much as he did. I wish I would have told him how thankful I am for him the last time I saw him. I’m blessed to have known such an influential man. I will miss passing him every day and seeing his smiling face. I will live every day just as he would, with a smile on my face. God gained a true angel on March 20. He will be missed forever,” said a senior at SPASH.
“Every day, before my statistics class, I would see Mr. Heilman in the hallway. Each day we would both exchange a hello and a smile. You couldn’t tell if he was having a good or bad day, because he would always have the same bright smile on his face. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to have Mr. Heilman as a teacher. One thing that I noticed about Mr. Heilman was that he truly cared about each and every one of his students. Whether they were outgoing, shy, athletic, artistic, it didn’t matter to him, because everyone was a somebody in his classroom. During basketball season, Mr. Heilman would always ask how the team is looking and how I was doing personally. It meant so much to me that a teacher cared about my outside hobbies and interests. His passion for teaching and helping students was shown every day in the classroom. I am forever grateful for the relationship and student to teacher connection that I gained with Mr. Heilman. He will be missed at SPASH and in the Stevens Point community,” said senior Maggie Negaard.
Justice Chukwuemeka • Oct 23, 2018 at 11:18 AM
A wonderful article about such as GREAT man. I never had Mr. Heilman as a student, but I will never forget the kindly help he gave me during my sophomore year when I missed my class. He walked me right down to my classroom. I was ever so grateful and now, I miss him a lot.
Kacey Koch • May 11, 2018 at 12:54 PM
I never knew Mr. Heilman but I’ve always heard about how great he was. So sad.
Hannah Siegel • May 11, 2018 at 12:53 PM
I never had him as a teacher but I always heard he was a great teacher and coach. It was sad to hear that he passed away, wish I could have met him.
Manuel Lupercio • May 11, 2018 at 12:46 PM
Very well written article, I had Mr. Heilman my sophomore year and he was definitely one of my favorite teachers. He will be missed by many.
Dylan Trigg • May 11, 2018 at 12:34 PM
Coach Heilman was such a good guy. He was always looking for the positives! I am glad you wrote this about him.
Kara • May 11, 2018 at 12:32 PM
Great article, Dylan. I had Mr Heilman for a teacher and as the others said in your story, he was so kind, caring and always helped each and every one of his students. He will truly be missed.
Alyssa Schroeckenthaler • May 11, 2018 at 12:30 PM
I had Mr. Heilman last year for APUSH, and I was so shocked when I found out. I miss him so much, as I’m sure many others do too. I love the quotes you got from those seniors. They made me feel all sentimental.
Alina Burmistrova • May 11, 2018 at 12:29 PM
Yes, I think it was tragedy not for his family only, but for SPASH as well. I understood this person was really dear for everyone. It is so hard to meet people like Matt, I think. Happiness Man, Smile Man, Good Mood Man, that’s how we can call him. I am really glad that you, Dylan, wrote an article about him.
Hannah Gibbons • May 11, 2018 at 12:20 PM
I really enjoyed reading this article, because Mr. Heilman was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. Social problems my junior year and Civics teacher in 9th grade. Thinking back, I can’t name one thing he did wrong. He was truly a blessing to this community. I’m glad you included quotes from students, I think it was a very heart warming piece.
Tony Ludwig • May 11, 2018 at 12:18 PM
I had Mr. Heilman as a teacher in social problems. The energy of the class was extremely evident, and I think that his influence will still be evident in SPASH for years to come.
Will Carroll • May 11, 2018 at 12:15 PM
This is a really touching article. I only had him for one class but he was a great teacher and an even better person.m