Leigh Heck

Leigh Emil Heck, 81, of Hillsboro, Ore., passed away on Oct. 25, 2018, at a care facility in Hillsboro.
Leigh was born on March 14, 1937, in Mondovi. He was one of five children born to Albert and Hilga (Roetter) Heck. Leigh was raised in Wisconsin and attended Mondovi High School, where he graduated with the class of 1954.
Following high school, Leigh joined the United States National Guard in 1955. He served his country for nine years and retired from the services in 1964.
Leigh met his wife, Elaine (Elwanger) Heck, through his cousin. They courted for a year before getting married on March 16, 1963. Leigh and Elaine made their home with their three children on the family farm. Leigh took over the family farm for a while before becoming a long haul truck driver. They lived on the farm for about 20 years before moving to Oregon in 1984. Leigh drove long and short haul trucks in Oregon as well before retiring.
Leigh enjoyed traveling with Elaine in the motorhome and made it a tradition to visit Paradise Cove every fall to go crabbing and fishing with his boat. They also visited Arizona and Alaska, among other states, with their motorhome. Leigh and Elaine participated in a Martin Luther tour of Germany with a church group. They also enjoyed a tour to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. When the house needed repairing Leigh was your man! He remodeled the house and liked to use his talents for woodworking. Leigh also took joy in decorating the house with hundreds of lights at Christmas time, and was proud of his Koi pond and enjoyed tending to his roses.
Leigh was preceded in death by his parents, Albert and Hilga Heck; brother, Norman Heck; nephew, Brian Heck.
He is survived by his loving wife, Elaine Heck; three children and their spouses, Peter and Mary Heck of Aloha, Ore., William Heck of Georgia and Kay Hosty of Beaverton, Ore.; three siblings and their spouses, Harold and Elizabeth Heck of New Brighton, Minn., Phyllis (Heck) Johnson of Mondovi, Wis., and Lucile (Heck) and Robert Accola of Mondovi, Wis.; seven grandchildren, Sarah, Emily, Alex, Ashley, Kolten, Izabela and Kara; three great-grandchildren, Sofia, Levi and Aiden; sister-in-law, Morrell Heck, Mondovi, Wis.; many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 10, at Zion Lutheran Church, 178 NW Evergreen Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97124.