Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
As received from Memorial Chapel Funeral and Cremation Service:
Ann T. Heckel, 73, a resident of Chassell, went home to her Lord on Friday September 23, 2022 at UP Health Systems Marquette Hospital with family beside her following a short illness.
“Annie” was born on December 28, 1948 in Chassell, Michigan, a daughter of the late Lawrence and Cecilia (Beauchamp) Colombe, and raised in the Houghton-Chassell area. The 1968 Houghton High School graduate was united in marriage to Howard D. Heckel on September 6, 1972. The couple resided on Denton Road in Chassell, where they raised their five children.
Annie was an avid cook and baker whose creations graced the Econo Foods bakery for many years before her retirement. In the previous years of her profession, she also worked for Nelson’s Summer Place supper club of Chassell, Houghton Big Boy, and Jim’s Foodmart Too. Quick-witted, tough, and never one to mince words, Annie will live on through the many recipes, good meals, and humor she shared over the years. A member of St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church of Houghton, she enjoyed knitting, crocheting, visiting with her family, and keeping track of the neighborhood.
She was preceded in death by her husband Howard, who passed away on November 11, 1991; her parents Lawrence and Cecilia Colombe; her step-father Walter Colombe; her sisters Mary Nelson, Katheryn Sauvola, Rita O’Connell, and Eleanor Sauvola; and her brother, Lawrence “Duffy” Colombe.
Surviving are:
Her children: Eric Heckel of Chassell
Elizabeth Glaser of Brighton, Michigan
Shelly (Charlie) Gordon of Red Cliff, Wisconsin
David (Mary) Heckel of Hancock
Allen Heckel of Lake Linden
Her stepson: Howard A. Heckel of Chassell
Her brothers and sisters:
William Colombe of Fremont, Michigan
Dorothy Aho of Tapiola
Richard (Mary Ellen) Colombe of Chassell
Angeline (Melvin) Lyttinen of Tapiola
Genevieve (Ron) Kyro of Tapiola
John Colombe of Chassell
Pauline Pietila of L’Anse
Sixteen grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild
Numerous nieces, nephews and cousins
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Thursday September 29, 2022, at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church of Houghton with Fr. Thomas Merkel officiating. Friends may call at the church from 10-10:45 a.m. on Thursday prior to the service. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery.
The Memorial Chapel Funeral & Cremation Service Hancock Chapel is assisting the family with the arrangements. To view Ann’s obituary or send condolences to the family please visit www.memorialchapel.net
