Serving veterans is at the core of what we do at EveryStep if for no other reason that veterans make up the core of the communities we serve. The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs estimates there are 177,000 veterans in Iowa – with 1/3 of them living in rural areas.
In the last year, EveryStep directly served more than 200 Iowa veterans as patients and clients through its Home Care and Hospice Care services. Dozens of veterans were honored through pinning ceremonies that provide a final decoration in recognition of their service. But that is not the only way EveryStep’s care reaches veterans.
In the fall of 2025, Denny Killion came under the care of EveryStep’s hospice team in Winterset. “My dad worked most of his life and I often found myself following him around helping him throughout the chores,” Denny’s son, Mike, remembers, “I took after his work ethic in everything in my life.” That strong work ethic inspired Mike to enlist in the United States Army.
“My career has sent me all over the country and the world,” Mike says, “I've been stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Fort Carson, Colorado; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; and now here in Germany.”
Mike was stationed at Tower Barracks in Grafenwohr when he learned that his father’s condition had worsened and the end was near. “I'd been so busy that I hadn't talked to my dad for over a year with the time change,” Mike remembers about getting the message about his dad, “I was assigned as part of a court martial panel the week that I was notified.”
The US Armed Forces has a protocol for situations just like this to quickly get servicemembers home from overseas. But there was a problem. Not in Iowa and not in Germany – but in Washington D.C.
“It's normal for the government to pay for the travel to and from the country while stationed overseas. But, I submitted my travel return during the government shutdown,” Mike remembers, “I was called later by a captain in our battalion to inform me that we had no funding to pay for the travel. Funding was stopped. Funding wasn't able to be approved.”
But, thankfully for Mike, that wasn’t the end of the road.
Jude Kuehner is a social worker with EveryStep’s metro hospice team. Social workers are a key part of the hospice care team – walking families through the process as nurses care for their loved ones.
“I had a phone call with Mike's sister, Marijo,” Jude remembers, “Marijo shared that Mike was trying to get back to Iowa from his post in Germany and usually the Red Cross could provide funds for flights, but because the government was shut down, they were not able to provide funds for a flight to Iowa. She stated it was stressor as international flights are expensive, especially on such short notice. Mike had been granted leave, and the only piece impeding his travel was the flight cost.”
Mike, a career soldier who understands logistical hurdles, accepted that the odds were severely stacked against him. “That's when I was under the impression that I wasn't going to be able to travel home. The cost for the flight home at that point wasn't affordable for me to come out of pocket,” he says.
But Jude had a plan. “After the phone call with Marijo, I reached out to the EveryStep Foundation team to ask if it was a possibility for EveryStep to cover the cost of the flight so Mike could return to Iowa,” says Jude, “Julie (Matternas) and Barbara (Pottorff) approached the board with the request, and it was approved within half an hour. The call/request occurred on October 30th, and Mike's leave started on November 1st - so I got the flight booked the night of 10/30 and Mike was able to fly out on 11/1.”
Mike arrived back in Iowa on November 2nd. Denny Killion passed away on November 4th at the age of 70 with his family – including Mike – by his side.
“I was back home for three weeks,” Mike recalls, “It's been years since I've been home – at least back to 2021ish.” Mike is now back overseas, back on duty protecting the nation from abroad. In the whirlwind of his trip back home to see his father, Jude and Denny’s care team didn’t spend much time with Mike – but they say his gratitude was overflowing.
But Jude says that is not why she and EveryStep’s Foundation do the things they do.
“I do want to stress that we don't do this kind of thing to receive gratitude,” Jude says, “Wishes of this caliber do not easily come together this quickly; I feel so fortunate that things fell into place as they did. Everything was approved/coordinated/set up within eight hours, so Mike was able to be with his dad who was declining rapidly.”
