Lynne Carol Pettler Heckman

1949 - 2017
Lynne Carol Pettler Heckman was born in Ventura, CA on August 8, 1949. Her mother, Sandra Pettler (née Goldberg) escaped the Holocaust by migrating from Poland long before World War II. Her father, Eugene Pettler, was a pilot and engineer who served in the Navy during the War.

Lynne was brilliant as well as beautiful. She was a star pupil, gifted in math, and applied to college to major in engineering in an era when that was atypical for women. She was also selected as the most beautiful in her high school class and modeled clothing in department stores. She graduated from UCLA in 1971. She earned an MA in Social Science at the University of Chicago in 1973 and went on to graduate studies in Sociology, where she was an ABD student. She proved to all she was a serious student.

Lynne met James Heckman, who was on the Chicago Economics faculty. She sent him a secret admirer Valentine featuring two giraffes with their necks entwined. They married in 1979, in Aspen, CO, formalizing a 41-year partnership. In 1982, Lynne gave birth to a son, Professor Jonathan Heckman of the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1986, to a daughter, Professor Alma Heckman, of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Lynne was a devoted mother and partner. She was the smartest and wisest person in her family. She edited and contributed to everyone's work, facilitating personal and professional growth among all who knew her. She maintained an exquisite garden surrounding her spacious home in Hyde Park/Kenwood Chicago and participated in beautification projects around the neighborhood, earning her the nickname "Garden Lady." She loved life and gave life and strength to all around her.

While raising her family, supporting everyone in her home and circle of friends, and enjoying the finer things in life, she also conducted an extensive body of survey research. She was a full-fledged partner with her husband on evaluating the benefits of early childhood programs. Most recently she helped design and implement the first evaluation of the impacts of the iconic and influential Reggio Emilia early childhood education program in its city of origin.

Lynne was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic colon cancer in April 2016. She battled the disease with dignity and courage for more than a year, including enduring experimental treatments against an uncommonly aggressive series of mutations. She died on July 8, 2017, surrounded by loved ones. She is buried at Oak Woods cemetery in Hyde Park, Chicago, amid a well-kept flower garden, suitable for the Garden Lady beloved and missed by all.