Donald "Doc" Dean Headley

Donald “Doc” Headley, 75, passed away at home on December 8, 2025, after a long two-year battle with stage four cancer.

Services will be held at Whitfield United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 13th.

Visitation will be at 10 a.m., and services at 11 a.m. Pastor Berth and Meyer Brothers Funeral Home will be officiating.

Donald “Doc” Headley was born on September 24, 1950, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Donald Benjamin and Ruth Hazel (Soderquist) Headley. Doc graduated from Central High School in 1969.

Doc started working at the age of 8 as a Siouxland Journal paperboy. Before he had a driver’s license, he had a bread-delivery route that he tended to each morning before school. He got the job by showing a man he could back the truck up!

He was a hard worker, and from 1971 to 1973, he did maintenance, welding at Brown Construction. From there (1973 to 1978), he ventured on to Ebasco Construction—Port Neal Units 3 & 4. He ran heavy equipment, which turned into a position as a crane operator on top of Unit 4. He held this job until the unit was completed.

He then worked at Air Products from 1979 to 1981, delivering oxygen tanks to patients and health facilities.

In 1981, he and his wife, Shelda, started a business called “Custom Acoustic Clean.” This two-person operation handled sales, labor, accounting—you name it.

In 1982, Doc moved on to Gerkins. He became their maintenance man after convincing them they needed one. When the plant moved from Iowa to Nebraska he was the only person assigned to disassemble the entire plant and reassemble everything for operation.

In 1992, Doc had a full-circle moment that led him back to the place he built. He took his dream job at Mid America, where he would retire (August 2015) as an Operating Engineer.

Doc was an adventurer. He tried many things in his lifetime: motocross, scuba diving, hockey, skiing, sailing, taxidermy, snowmobiling, camping, fishing, boating, and every kind of biking imaginable. Through all this adventure, he always found time to volunteer and help his family and friends—putting on roofs, helping with projects, installing water heaters, assisting with elderly care. He liked to stay busy. One winter he took on a project rebuilding a foreign sports car, an Austin-Healey Sprite.

As a kid, he played the organ and trumpet. In later years, he taught himself to play a five-string banjo and the harmonica. He enjoyed playing his harmonica for his first grandchild when she was a toddler—she always enjoyed the music.

In middle school, Doc rescued a girl from the bottom of the Leif Ericson pool while swimming with friends one day. More “spring into action” moments would occur throughout his life, where Doc had to save the day, but he always did so without hesitation. For those who knew “Mr. Safety,” this always seemed outside his normal risk factor.

Doc and Shelda (Henkel) were married on November 3, 1973, at Whitfield United Methodist Church. They welcomed their daughter, Heidi Headley, on February 11, 1975. They shared many adventures and many stories. They were married for 52 years. After retiring, the two swam weekly at the YMCA until Doc purchased “the RV.” Doc and Shelda hit the road and began traveling whenever they chose, journeying across the United States—from Niagara Falls to the Joshua Trees.

Doc is survived by his wife, Shelda; daughter, Heidi Headley of Grandview, MO; granddaughter, Jonesha, and son-in-law, Jordan Tribble of Greenville, SC; grandson, Cal’el Jones of Grandview, MO; and three great-grandchildren, Jace, Jaxon, and Journey Tribble of Greenville, SC.

He is also survived by his sister, Kathie, and her husband, Mel Ishii, of Springfield, VA; his brother, Rick, and his wife, Rigel Headley, of Morrison, CO; his sister, Susan Headley, of Sioux City, IA; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Ruth Headley, and his niece, Cassie Conley.