Owen Theodore Hecht

Owen Hecht passed away peacefully on June 6, 2026, just weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday. His family celebrates a life marked by simple pleasures, laughter and the ability to spin a story or tell a joke, and his willingness to lend a hand. Owen leaves behind a legacy that includes a profound love of his family and friends, a hole in our hearts and a freezer full of ice cream.

Nothing made Owen’s face light up quite as much as his family crowded around the kitchen table. His story is one of partnership and enduring love for his wife of 69 years. Together they nurtured a family that grew to include their three children, Charlene Jorgenson, Patti Sills and Kevin Hecht, as well as grandchildren Laura Witty (Tyler), Lydia Burke (Michael) and Karl Jorgenson, and great grandchildren Owen and Cameron Burke. Owen is pre-deceased by his mother and father and five siblings.

Owen had a legendary ability to fix absolutely anything, although he found that most things could be fixed with a squirt of WD-40. Growing up on a farm in southeastern Minnesota, he possessed a natural gift for understanding how things worked and turned his knack for tinkering into a 30-year career as a mechanic at Koch Refinery.

Whether tracking through the woods before dawn, or waiting patiently on the water for a bite, Owen was an enthusiastic outdoorsman and at peace in nature with a fishing rod in hand, or a rifle resting on his shoulders. One of his favorite pastimes, though, was bicycling. He was a familiar face around town, and his mint condition, 1958 red Schwinn classic cruiser was a real conversation starter.

Finally, Owen loved travel and the open road ahead, traversing the country with his young family and tent trailer in tow. He lived by a simple rule: “ Gotta get in 500 miles today.” He was happiest behind the wheel with Darlene in the passenger seat, navigating from the Rand McNally atlas, and his kids sleeping or squabbling with each other in the back seat. Week’s-long vacations were filled with roadside landmarks, National Parks, KOA campgrounds, spam sandwiches eaten by the roadside, and a lifetime of shared, humorous stories that the family continues to fondly recall.

There will be a private, family service in Hastings at St. John’s Lutheran Church.

May he find eternal rest and comfort on his final journey.