William W. "Bill" Heimbach Jr.

Wiliam W. "Bil" Heimbach, Ir., 81, died of cancer on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at his home in Santa Fe.

Bill is survived by the love his life, wife April Heimbach of Santa Fe.

He also is survived by his grandchildren William E. "Liam" Heimbach of Camus, Wash., and

Willow Heimbach and Walter Heimbach of Helena, Mont.

Also surviving Bill are daughter-in-law Bree Heimbach of Helena, Mont.; stepson Brad Spikes, his wife Elhalm and their children Mallie and Jake, of Sammamish, Wash.; and stepdaughter Amanda Carthey, her husband Matt and their children Claire and Cooper, of Fort Worth, Texas.

Bill also is survived by former wife Jane Riese of Los Alamos, N.M.; former daughter-in-law Mandy Curtis of Camus, Wash.; sister Holly Heimbach deBuys and her husband Bob, of Birmingham, Ala., and nephews Robert deBuys of Birmingham, Ala., and Bill deBuys of Cincinnati, Ohio, and their wives Amelia and Paige, and children: May, Amy, Eli and Riley.

Bill was preceded in death by his son William Riese Heimbach, who grew up in Los Alamos and Santa Fe, N.M., and who passed away unexpectedly in Vancouver, Wash., in 2018.

Bill was the son of William W. and Mary Elizabeth Heimbach, originally from Kane, Pa.

He grew up in New York and Pennsylvania, graduated from high school in Pittsburgh, and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Illinois' Bradley University, where he was president of his fraternity, Theta Xi.

He then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, completed Officer's Training School, and served four years on active duty. He was a Vietnam veteran, serving as a Captain in the 307th Strategic Wing at U-Tapao Air Field, Thailand.

He then worked in public relations in Hartford, Conn., for two years until he decided to head west. From 1972 to 1978, he lived in Vail, Colo., where he was a newspaper and magazine editor, and won a seat on the Town Council.

In 1978, he accepted a job with then Eberline Instrument Corp. in Santa Fe, where he managed

communications for a year, until he took advantage of an opportunity to live and work in London, England. There, he was assistant editorial and production manager for a British publishing company.

He returned to Santa Fe in 1980 and joined the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper staff, where he won writing awards that included the New Mexico Press Association's E.H. Schaffer Award for the best feature writing in the state.

In 1986, Bill joined the public affairs staff of Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he worked for the next 22 years except for an 18-month stint in media relations at EG&G Inc. in Golden, Colo. His longest tenured jobs at Los Alamos were managing the Laboratory's communications programs, and later serving as Laboratory liaison to state and local governments.

Bill retired in 2009. After a successful bout with cancer that year, Bill and his wife spent their later years enjoying the art and culture of Santa Fe, and living in Rancho Viejo, where they often walked the nearby trails. Bill also was a voracious non-fiction reader, particularly of biographies.

Bill's public service included serving on the Santa Fe County Ethics Board, New Mexico

Commission on Public Broadcasting, and the Santa Fe Public Librarv Board.