David Burkholder

DAVID BURKHOLDER

Monticello

On Sept. 25, 2017, retired Anamosa Police Sgt. David Burkholder, 52, of Monticello, was reassigned to patrol the streets of Heaven. He battled the bitter enemy, cancer, for many years and his promotion was waiting.

Life celebration services will be at 11

a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello, where friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The Rev. Emory Gillespie will officiate at the service. Interment will be in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa.

Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at www.goettschonline.com.

Surviving are his eternally loving dispatcher, Whitney Hall; his children, Christine (Al) Wehmeyer, Solon, Mark (Mandy) Angotti, Durant, and Teresa (Tim) Hansohn, Cedar Rapids; grandchildren, Keefer (Kara) Wehmeyer, Carly Wehmeyer, Kyle (Audrey Tharp) Olson, Brett (Lindsay) Wehmeyer, Jovannah Angotti, Devin Bender and Jonah and Jessie Sheets; three great-grandchildren, Madeleine, Story and Hadlee; his siblings, Connie (Kelly) Scranton, Rochester, Minn., Stephen (Keela) Burkholder, Bellevue, Neb., Michael Burkholder, Manchester, and Katherine (John) Kendrick, Arkansas City, Kan.; and brother- and

sisters-in-law, Don (Janet) Angotti of Cedar Rapids and Marcella Straney of Scottsdale, Ariz.

He was preceded in death by his parents in 2016 and his wife, Joanne, in 2010.

David Patrick Burkholder was born Jan. 28, 1965, in Fort Lee, Va., the son of Carl and Carol White Burkholder. He graduated from Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, Class of 1983. He began his career in law enforcement with the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Linn County Sheriff's Office in 1987. Dave also worked in security at Mercy Medical Center before going 10-41 with the Anamosa Police Department, where he was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2005. He remained at the Anamosa Police Department until his illness forced him to go 10-42 in February 2016. David was a fair and honest law enforcement officer who loved his job and whose dream was to help others and make his corner of the world a better place.

David met Joanne Angott-Bender in 1988 and they were united in marriage on May 12, 1996, with her children becoming his own. They enjoyed 22 years of love and happiness until her death on June 21, 2010.

In October 2014, he met a big haired dispatcher, who became his loving companion and caregiver, never leaving his side until the moment he left for heaven.

Dave enjoyed cheering obnoxiously for the Miami Dolphins, playing the bass, being with his family, hunting and fishing, and doing anything he could to make others laugh. Even in his final days he did anything in his power to make others smile and laugh. Dave frequently said that of all his titles in life, "Grandpa" was his favorite. For those who loved him and were lucky enough to be loved in return, he was a mighty superhero, never complaining about the fight he was up against, never backing down, always fighting for one more day with the people he loved so deeply. David will be missed more than words can say.

The family would like to extend a special thank-you to the employees of the Hall Perrine Cancer Center and Above and Beyond Hospice for taking such good care of our superhero, and to Dave's Blue Family for always having his back.