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		</div><h6><span style="color:#120101;">George Heckman and Grant Heckman, were found dead from gunshot wounds inside a van on a track road, west of Carson City, Michigan, on June 19</span></h6>
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<h6><span style="color:#120101;"><strong>Heckman, 52, is suspected of shooting his 28-year old son, Grant, and then taking his own life with the weapon </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color:#120101;"><strong>Police confirmed they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color:#120101;"><strong>George Heckman was reported missing when he missed a school board meeting, Monday, sparking a search </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color:#120101;"><strong>Stunned family and friends say the popular principal had been struggling to care for his severely disabled grant who was born with cerebral palsy</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color:#120101;"><strong>Heckman and his wife Jeanne have two other children</strong></span></h6>
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<h6 class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-199446" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/george-heckman2.jpeg" alt="George Heckman2.jpeg" width="433" height="564" /><br />
<strong>George Heckman, 52, (pictured) and Grant Heckman, 28, both of Westphalia, were found dead from gunshot wounds inside a van on a track road, west of Carson City, on Monday</strong></h6>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">Double tragedy struck a community in Michigan, Monday as the popular principal of a local school killed himself and his adult disabled son in a tragic murder-suicide.<br />
After 20 years as the principal of Pewamo Elementary School George Heckman was 10 days away from his new job as superintendent for Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools when he allegedly took his own life<br />
George Heckman, 52, and Grant Heckman, 28, both of Westphalia, were found dead from gunshot wounds inside a van on a track road, west of Carson City, on Monday.<br />
Michigan State Police confirmed they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.<br />
Police were altered after Heckman, the longtime principal of Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School, did not arrive for a Monday night school board meeting.<br />
Officers were able to track down the principal by pinging his cellphone and found him and his son in the van.<br />
Friends and family were shocked by the news, but some say they can understand what drove him to it.<br />
in an interview with <a class="" href="http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/06/community_shows_support_for_fa.html#incart_target2box_default_#incart_target2box_targeted_" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">MLive </a>Janet Pohl, who along with her husband Luke, is a longtime friend of Heckman, say she believes he did it &#8216;out of love for his son and not wanting him to suffer&#8217;.<br />
&#8216;I don&#8217;t condone what George did, I don&#8217;t think anyone condones it, but I understand it. I&#8217;m sorry to say I understand it, I wish I didn&#8217;t,&#8217; she said<br />
Pohl and her husband are also parents of a child with disabilities, and said that Heckman &#8216;saw his son suffer too much, too long.&#8217;<br />
Grant was born with cerebral palsy, had severe neurological disabilities, was non verbal and confined to a wheelchair.<br />
He was &#8216;as helpless as helpless could be,&#8217; Pohl said. &#8216;Everything had to be done for him,&#8217; she said.</p>
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<h6 class="imageCaption"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-199447" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pewamo-westphalia-elementary-school1.jpg" alt="Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School1.jpg" width="634" height="423" />George <strong>Heckman was the principal of Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School</strong> for two decades. He was due to move on to an elevated position as area schools superintendent 10 days from the day he killed himself</h6>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">He was also suffering with painful ulcers from inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis.<br />
Grant required constant care from Heckman &#8211; who cared for him along with his wife Jeanne Heckman, and two other kids, Claudia and Sam.<br />
Pohl said she had wished that Heckman had opened up a more about the struggles he was facing caring for Grant.<br />
Many friends and coworkers had no idea about the difficulties of caring for a severely disabled boy.<br />
He was simply known as a positive and uplifting leader in the area. Heckman was due to take over as superintendent for Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools at the end of June after 20 years as an elementary school principal for 20 years.<br />
A funeral will be held for Heckman and his son on Friday at St. Mary&#8217;s Catholic Church in Westphalia.</p>
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Popular elementary school principal in Michigan, ‘shot his disabled son dead before turning the gun on himself in tragic murder-suicide’ – but a friend says he did it ‘out of love’
