Richard Norman Heckenlaible

1938 - 2022

Richard Norman Heckenlaible, age 83, of La Mirada, California, died on January 30, 2022, in Whittier, California, after a short illness. He was known as "Dick" within the family and as "Rich" among most of his other friends.
Son of the late Arthur Carl Heckenlaible and Helen Adele Brewer Heckenlaible of Lodi, he was born on November 20, 1938, in Helena, Montana, where he spent his early childhood. The family moved to Lodi in 1946.
Richard became active in the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Attending local schools, he won awards on the swimming team. He was valedictorian of his high school class in 1956.
He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree. He was accepted for membership in Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, and in Xi Epsilon, the civil engineering honorary. He also was in the university Honor Students Society and was inducted into the national honor society of Phi Beta Kappa.
In 1960, Richard and Donna Mae Mitchell of Lodi were married in the United Congregational Christian Church of Lodi. They spent two years in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Richard had an engineering job with the U.S. Public Health Service in Bethesda.
Richard and Donna returned to California, where he worked as a civil engineer for North American Aviation/Rockwell International/Boeing, a job he much enjoyed. One of his favorite projects was his contributions to the Saturn V program. He also worked on the landing gear of the Space Shuttle. He retired after more than 45 years, when Boeing shut down the Space Shuttle program.
Although Richard's lifetime work identifies him as a talented "Numbers Person," he was a clever "Words Person" as well. He could take an ordinary phrase and turn it into something totally other, sending his listeners into laughter. And he was a good teacher.
Richard's favorite activities included driving his son Michael to school every day, where they both enjoyed each other's company. He assisted in Michael's Boy Scout troop, where he was an Assistant Scoutmaster. He went to numerous Scout camps with Michael. He helped Michael earn over 40 merit badges as well as being a pivotal member in his Eagle Scout project. Michael became an Eagle Scout, like his father.
In his spare time and after retirement, Richard became an income tax expert, and he also volunteered his time as a Social Security advisor.
He always tried to use his experiences to teach others. As he learned about taxes and tax laws, he helped many persons to file, including those in his own family. He used his extensive knowledge in finance to serve as treasurer at his church, and he sang in the church choir.
He instilled the importance of mathematics and science into his granddaughter throughout her life, through teaching, stories of his engineering work, and exposing her to new topics as she went through school. He loved it when she would call him with math homework questions. (The second picture above was taken at his granddaughter's graduation.)
Richard was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Donna of La Mirada, California; his son, Michael Heckenlaible of Riverside, California; his granddaughter, Melissa Heckenlaible of Menifee, California; and a step-grandson, Michael Bauders of Durham, North Carolina.
Also surviving is Richard's sister, Wilma Spice, of Lodi. Richard and Wilma had differing interests when they were young, but in adulthood they were close friends and much enjoyed reminiscing and sharing other activities together.
Richard also is survived by many cherished cousins and friends. He will be much missed.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be sent in Richard's name to Boy Scouts of America, Greater Yosemite Council, 4031 Technology Drive, Modesto, CA 95356, where Richard earned his Eagle Scout rank; or to the donor's favorite charity.