WINTER PARK, FL – Henry Hecht was born in Montevideo, MN on November 27th, 1932 and went to his Heavenly Home on Saturday, August 17th, 2024. He married Deserre Saltness on September 5, 1954. They met in High School, so they shared their lives for over 70 years! He is survived by his wife, Deserre, two daughters, Laura Everts (Ed) and Amy Dalton, four grandchildren, Emily Afu (Mario) , Joshua Hoffman, Jeremy Hoffman (Catherine) , Noah Dalton and 2 great grandsons, Milo and Logan Afu. He was preceded in death by his sister, Harriet Ohme.
He joined the Navy in 1951 and served in the Korean War on the USS Bennington. Following the war, he graduated from DePaul University, Chicago, IL, with a Bachelor of Music-Trombone Performance and was a member of both the Chicago Civic Orchestra and North Shore Symphony. He re-enlisted in the Navy and taught at the Navy School of Music in Washington, DC from 1958-1960. He was a trombonist in the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C. from 1960-1978. He earned his Master of Music Education-Conducting from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Upon retiring from the Navy, Henry & Deserre moved to Western Springs, IL. He served at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL, as Professor of Brass/Voice and conductor of the Moody Concert Band until he retired a second time in 1994. Henry and Deserre divided their retirement years living on a lake in Winter, WI and a travel trailer park community in Jupiter, FL. They later moved to Pennbrooke Fairways in Leesburg, FL and Allegro Senior Living in Winter Park, FL.
Henry was not only a lifelong trombonist, he served as Minister of Music in many churches, taught private trombone and voice lessons, was an avid golfer and teaching pro, enthusiastic fisherman and bowler. Everything he did, he worked to be the best he could be.
Henry had a personal relationship with his Savior, Jesus Christ. His early Christian walk was aided by The Navigators Ministries and a group of Christian Navy Band members in Washington, D.C. He spent hours reading his Bible and sharing his faith with whomever would listen. He prayed daily for family and friends, most often by name. Many lives of students and colleagues were impacted by his loving concern for their eternal souls. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, September 1st, 2024 in the Winter Park Room at Allegro Senior Living, 2701 Howell Branch Rd., Winter Park, FL. A time of fellowship and light refreshments will begin at 2 pm, followed by the memorial service at 2:30 pm. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Henry may be made to Samaritan’s Purse, www.samaritanspurse.org, Lion & Lamb Ministries, www.lionandlambministries.org, or TunneltoTowers, www.t2t.org.
