Travis Heermann

A celebration of life was held at the Denver Zen Center, in Denver, CO, on May 17, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. There will also be a celebration of life held at the Naper Community Hall in Naper, NE, on August 17, 2024. Travis Lee Heermann was born October 22, 1969, and was raised on the family farm near Naper, NE, where his great-grandparents John and Bertha Ludemann homesteaded. Travis graduated from Naper Public School in 1987. He was married to Chanel (Vandewege) on May 29, 2015, and they enjoyed many adventures together. Travis went on to receive a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, a master’s degree in English from the University of Nebraska Omaha, and was an Odyssey Writing Workshop graduate. He was an instructor at the University of Nebraska Omaha English Department, facilitator for Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and English teacher in Fukuoka, Japan through the JET Program and was able to write and speak Japanese. Travis went on to become an author, freelance writer, award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, publisher, and editor.

During his life, Travis wrote 30 books; many were under his own imprint, Bear Paw Publishing. These include nine novels and a novella, plus three young-adult novels and nine middle-grade books under his nom de plume T. James Logan. He also wrote nine novels and nonfiction titles for his ghostwriting clients. Based on his writing successes, he was accepted into both the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) and the Horror Writers Association (HWA).

Travis was a screenwriter and filmmaker. His screenplays have won numerous awards and have been performed on the stage. In 2021, he launched a film production company, Bear Paw Films. Its first project was a horror comedy short film called Demon for Hire, which won multiple awards including best director, best first-time filmmaker, and best short. In addition to writing, Travis also produced and appeared on several podcasts, and served on programming at many conventions. In 2022, he was chosen as Author Guest of Honor at Mile High Con 54.

Travis always found time for fun. He was a poker player, along with being a poet and a lifelong biker. He enjoyed music of all kinds and was a multi-talented artist including visual arts and playing guitar. Travis had a passion for travel - having lived in Japan and New Zealand and traveled extensively in foreign lands of Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Cuba to name a few.

Travis enjoyed cycling, collecting martial arts styles and belts, torturing young minds with otherworldly ideas, and monsters of every flavor. He was a pilot and once had a solo flight from Omaha to Norfolk, NE. Travis shared his many talents with his nieces and nephews every chance he got.

Travis was in a tragic motorcycle accident suffering a traumatic brain injury on December 21, 2023, and passed away on April 26, 2024, at the age of 54 years.

He is survived by his wife Chanel (Vandewege) Heermann; parents Jerry and Dorothy (Dummer) Heermann; his siblings: Cody (Mellissa) Heermann, Casey (Jill) Heermann, and Rachel (Heermann) (Kip) Brewer; step-children: Kaylen Helgason, Nykki Seybert (Jace and James), Joshua Seybert (Logan and Garion); and step-great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his grandparents Alnard and Hilda (Ludemann) Heermann, Herman and Lena (Dvorak) Dummer, and his first wife, Cheryl (Seybert) Heermann.