Roll of Honor
Howard Wayne Holdefer
Incident
Reserve Deputy Sheriff Howard Holdefer suffered a fatal heart attack as he and several other deputies attempted to arrest three intoxicated men.
The suspects began to struggle and kick during the arrest. During the struggle Reserve Deputy Holdefer suffered the heart attack.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IA-B32F14FE- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Howard. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Reserve Deputy Sheriff Holdefer served with the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.
Thank you for your service to the Newton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Reserve Deputy Sheriff Holdefer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Reserve Deputy Sheriff Howard Wayne Holdefer is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In IA, 11 of 226 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Howard Wayne Holdefer's cause is highlighted.
How Howard Wayne Holdefer Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Howard Wayne Holdefer is highlighted in Oct.