Jenna Heck

Jenna Marie Heck was born on January 11, 1985, to parents Gerald and Peggy (Johnson) Heck at the Holy Trinity Hospital in Graceville, MN. She was baptized on January 27, 1985, made her 1st Communion on April 25, 1993, and was confirmed in March of 2003, all at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Beardsley, MN. She attended post secondary her senior year of high school in Canby and graduated from CGB High School in 2003.

As a youth, Jenna was a Girl Scout and a very active member of the Beardsley Go-Getter's 4-H Club for 12 years, serving in offices and attending many activities. She was very involved in the goat and dairy projects and looked forward to exhibiting at the MN State Fair each year. She was chosen to be a State 4-H ambassador in 2003. In her final year, she won the Grand Champion at the State Fair with her Guernsey heifer, Suzie. She served as a Big Stone County Dairy Princess for five years. She was very proud to support the dairy industry. One of her goals was to show every breed of dairy cow.

In the fall of 2003 she attended Model College of Hair Design in St. Cloud. In the fall of 2004, she attended Ridgewater College in Willmar for dairy management. She transferred to SDSU in the fall of 2005 and graduated in December of 2006. While at SDSU she was a member of the dairy judging team and collegiate 4-H. Following graduation, she moved to New Hope and worked as a waitress. She returned home in 2008, worked at the Divine House and at George's Bar and Grill. She bought a home in Ortonville. In 2009 she moved to St. Joseph and attended college at the Minnesota Business College in St. Cloud and studied to be a veterinarian technician. She served as president of the Vet Tech Club. During the summer of 2010, she moved to Melrose, continued college, and start working on a dairy farm there. She spent the last year helping her parents on their dairy farm and had future plans to take over the family business. Jenna also sold Life's Abundance Pet Food and worked as a PCA at the Divine House.

Jenna loved her dogs. Shilo, Bue, and Pookie were her life. She dressed them in holiday clothing! She had recently become a hospice volunteer and was planning to train Pookie as a therapy dog.

She enjoyed cooking and baking, caramels being her specialty. She loved to shop, go to rummage sales and auctions, always looking for a bargain! She collected cow and dog decorations for herself and her Mom. She met friends wherever she went – on her phone were found 500 contacts! Jenna's radiance will be greatly missed.

Jenna passed away on Sunday, January 22, 2012. She had lived to reach the age of 27 years. Even in death, she continued to serve others, as she was a tissue and organ donor.

Left with Jenna's loving memory are her parents, Gerald and Peggy; her sister, Jessica (Mark) Larson of Bellingham and their children Michael and Mary; her brothers: Jake (Desa Rae) of Ortonville, and Jared (Brittany) of Ortonville and their children, Josephine and Abram; and her grandfather, Richard Heck.

Jenna is preceded in death by her grandparents: Merlyn and Mildred Johnson and Beverly Heck, and her uncle, Henry Heck.