John Heckscher

1936 - 2017

John Heckscher, 80, died peacefully on June 21, 2017 after a courageous battle with can cer. He was the loving husband for 49 years of Katharine Heckscher and devoted father of Sarah Hyche (Ashley) of Charlotte, NC and Elizabeth Jackvony (Randall) of Cranston, RI. He was the proud Grandad of Davin and Ellery Hyche and Benjamin and Adam Jackvony. John is also survived by his sister, Ellen Smith (Brad), his brother Charles Heckscher (Susan), his in-laws Ralph Dearborn (Jerrie) and Betsy Miller (Chuck), and by nieces and nephews Brad, Steven, Lela, Anne, Donald, Susan and Katherine. John was born in Philadelphia, PA in August 1936 to Marjorie and Charles Heckscher, He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, USAF and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University in 1958, combining studies in engineering and physics. He was awarded a Master of Science degree in EE from Johns Hopkins University in 1959. John worked at Hanscom Air Force Base as a research and program manager for 42 years, where his work projects in low frequency radio waves and ionospheric research took him to Alaska, Greenland, Sweden and Denmark. He was program director for HAARP, a joint Air Force and Navy project in Alaska. John was named Outstanding Professional Employee for 1994 by the Boston Federal Executive Board, and was the recipient of the Phillips Laboratorys Technology Management Award in 1996. At his retirement in 2002, he was given the Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award by the Department of the Air Force. He was honored for his volunteer service to the community by the Wayland Council on Aging and by CareGroup Parmenter. First and foremost John loved being with his children and grandchildren and his extended family and friends. Among Johns many other interests were singing with the Golden Tones and the church choir, playing tennis, gardening, reading, solving Sudoku puzzles, bird watching and inventing solutions to fix things for his home and others. John was actively involved in the Wayland Council on Aging, driving meals-on-wheels, and being on the fix-it crew. He served on the Board of the Wayland Historical Society serving as Newsletter Editor for 11 years and was on-call handyman for Parmenter Nursing and Hospice. John will be remembered as a kind, generous, talented and loving gentleman, who thrived in service to his friends and family. A Celebration of Johns life will be held on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at 2:00 pm at the First Parish in Wayland, 50 Cochituate Road, Wayland. Interment will be private in North Cemetery, Wayland. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Johns memory may be made to the Golden Tones, Inc., 41 Cochituate Road, Wayland, MA 01778 (www.goldentones.org) or the Parmenter Foundation, 266 Cochituate Road, Wayland, MA 01778 (www.parmenterfoundation.org). For condolences and directions visit www.johncbryantfuneralhome.com.