Dorothea Rickard Heise, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 27, 2012, at Southeast Hospital.

She was born July 30, 1927, in Cape Girardeau, to Thomas I. and Ada Bratton Rickard.

Dorothea graduated from Central High School in January 1945 and attended Steimle Business College. She and Gene Heise were married Aug. 12, 1945.

She was employed many years at Rust & Martin on Broadway, where she was an assistant to Mrs. Rust. She was active in Cub Scouts, past president of Cape Pilots Club, served as the first newsletter editor, was a charter member of Chapter 453 of Experimental Aircraft Association in 1972 at Painton, Mo., and was a charter member of St. Mark Lutheran Church, having been a member of the Dorcas Circle.

A lifetime hobby was oil painting. Some were sold at craft fairs, but most were painted for friends and family members. When she was 15 in 1942, during World War II, she won a government-sponsored poster contest and received a tour of the Blytheville Air Force Base, which then was a guarded Air Force base in Arkansas.

The winning poster was of Uncle Sam pointing his finger. It later became a national poster that was in every post office in the nation along with other government locations. The phrase "Uncle Sam Wants You" was added and it became a national recruiting poster for the military.

Survivors include four sons, Kenneth Jr. of Collierville, Tenn., Monty of Van Buren, Mo., Randy of Cape Girardeau, Bradly of Jackson; six grandsons; three granddaughters; and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, six brothers and a sister.

A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum, with the Rev. S. Michael Malone officiating.

Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Online condolences may be made at www.fordandsonsfuneralhome.com.