Larry George Lehecka

1937 - 2023

Larry was born in Ord, Nebraska to Adeline and George Lehecka on July 2, 1937. He spent the first 12 years of his life living on the family farm and attending a one room schoolhouse being taught by 18-year-old girls who had graduated from high school the year before. Larry said they were excellent teachers. The family moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 1948 and Larry graduated from Nebraska University Omaha in 1958. From there he entered the Navy Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island. He was commissioned as an Ensign in the US Navy on October 31, 1958. His duties took him to Georgia, California, and Michigan and he was part of the Heavy Cruiser USS Helena crew which sailed in the Western Pacific to various locations such as Japan, Korea, Australia, Guam, Bangkok, Okinawa, and Hong Kong. While in Japan he visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Larry met his future wife, Nancy Lee Weiss, in San Francisco while stationed in California. They fell in love and were married in Flat Rock, Michigan in June 1961 while he was assigned to Naval Air Station, Grosse Ile. They then moved to California upon his transfer from active-duty to the United States Navy Reserves (USNR) and took a delayed honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls. Larry went on to support the Navy as a Civil Servant at several locations to include Point Mugu, San Diego and Hawaii. He also continued his education, obtaining a Master's Degree in Business from California Lutheran University during this period. Larry retired from the USNR as a Commander in 1993 after 27 years of honorable and faithful service. During their time together, Larry and Nancy went on several cruises, toured major foreign and US cities and visited friends in other states. We said goodbye to Larry on 6 October, 2023. Larry leaves behind his wife Nancy, children Cindy and her husband Phil, Leslie, Linda and her husband Ray, daughter-in-law Cynthia, grandchildren Brian and Madison, great grandson David and great granddaughter Jillian. Larry was preceded in death by his parents, son Lyle and grandson Robbie. Our wonderful family will not be the same without him.