Willard L. "Bill" Hecht

Willard "Bill" L. Hecht, 76-year-old resident of Little Falls, MN, passed away Thursday, November 14, 2024 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, MN surrounded by his family.

Memorial Mass held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at the St. Francis Convent in Little Falls, MN with Father David Maciej officiating. Visitation held from 9-11 AM on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at the St. Francis Convent in Little Falls, MN. Caring for Bill and his family is the LeMieur Funeral Home in Little Falls, MN.

Bill, also known as Will, was born to Willard C. and Ann Hecht on March 31, 1948. His twin sister arrived first allowing Bill to surprise the family with his appearance. Bill grew-up in St. Paul in an area known as Frog Town. He attended St. Agnes Catholic School, which was just a few blocks from the small upstairs duplex where he lived with his parents, older sister Karen and his twin, Linda. Bill enjoyed a childhood filled with many adventures at a time when children were allowed to explore without watchful eyes. He and his friends would hop on their bikes in the morning and disappear for the day. We can only imagine what they got up to! When the bikes were put away for the winter, the skates got laced up for long days of hockey with his friends. He had plenty of freedom but always managed to find his way home in time for dinner. His boyhood adventures on bikes morphed into cars, music and cruising the streets of St. Paul. Again, we can only imagine these adventures. His love of music has been foundational throughout his life. Bill could name any musician and the group they sang with from the 60's and 70's. He was a wealth of information about songs, lyrics, concerts and other musical lore. He could also identify the year and make of most cars from the 50's and 60's

Bill joined the Navy during the Vietnam war and was stationed in Hawaii. He remained on the Islands after his service and developed a love for beach life and surf culture. Bill eventually made it back to the mainland and completed his undergraduate in English Literature at the University of Wisconsin River Falls. He met his wife, Judith, in River Falls, WI and they married on October 3, 1981. Bill completed a master's degree in Library Science in 1983 at UW Madison, and upon completion he and Judith served in the Peace Corps in Fiji from 1984 to 1986. The highlights of this experience were adopting their daughter Elizabeth Roshni from an orphanage, helping to develop a library system for the country, and exploring both the Fijian and Indian cultures living on the islands. In 1987, Bill accepted the management position with the Great River Regional Library system at the Carnegie Library in Little Falls, MN. He enjoyed helping the public research information and was "the google search" before there was Google. Bill eventually stepped away from customer service at the library and became a regional supervisor for the Great River Regional Library until his retirement. Judith and Will enjoyed international travel and managed to get to Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Quebec after the children had grown.

Bill had unbounding love for Judith and their four children: Elizabeth, Patrick, Noah and Stella. His love language was "gift giving" and "acts of service." The children grew up with many little surprises of sweets that he would pick-up from tasty patisseries in the cities. He also made many meals to satisfy their palettes. He regularly wanted to eliminate the weekly chores that were assigned to each child by "The Moms" saying, "Jude, we did not have children to make them work!" Judith just smiled and told the kids to "get back to work" once Bill was out of earshot. Once grandchildren arrived, Bill repeated this pattern with the next generation. Bill became the main cook in the family once he retired. Judith enjoyed coming home from work each day with a meal on the table, although eating at 4pm always struck her as a bit early!

Poetry was a passion for Will once he retired. He devoted many hours each day to his writing and had a playful voice when presenting his ideas. Writing Haiku was a favorite, but nothing was off limits in terms of his poetic creativity. He regularly sent silly texts and emails filled with a bit of nonsense and a freshly crafted Haiku.

Bill and Judith became Associates of the Franciscan Sister when they moved to Little Falls 37 years ago. This relationship nourished Bill's spiritual life and kept him on the path of continual conversion of his Faith. His spiritual life was nurtured by the many Sisters who he called friends.

Bill is survived by his wife Judith; their children, Elizabeth, Patrick, Noah and Stella; his sister, Karen; sons-in-law, Ben Muchow and Bob Davies; grandchildren, Kiera King and Nathan Muchow. Preceding him to Heaven are his parents, Will and Ann; his loving friend, Donna; and twin sister, Linda.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred and will be donated to local charities in Will's honor.