TORRINGTON – Stevie Jensen Heckendorf suffered a heart attack brought on by a blood clot to the lungs Easter morning. Stevie never regained consciousness, but because she was part of LifeLink Organ Donors, life support kept her body going until April 13, 2023.
The family was so thankful for the extra time to be by her side one last time to hug and love on her, pray for her and say their goodbyes.
She had multiple degrees and used those to be an amazing teacher. Her fellow teachers, students, staff and parents at ET Booth Middle School and other schools loved her very much and spoke highly about her dedication to teaching.
Her life was all about her sons, her grandson, friends, meeting new people and exploring new activities. She was a great athlete throughout her life with hiking, paddle boarding, canoeing, sea kayaking, and even running the AJC Peachtree Road Race several times. She never lost her Wyoming roots and loved riding horses whenever the opportunity arose.
Stevie was a Wyoming High School State Athlete in gymnastics and track. She played college volleyball for Eastern Wyoming College, after which, she enlisted in the United States Army as a Linguistic Specialist. Basic Training was in Fort Dix, New Jersey, then on to DLI Training in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the International Language School in Monterey, California, overseas to Sinop, Turkey, and eventually back to the United States to finish at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
Stevie adopted Georgia as her home for the last 25 years. She loved the trees, the climate, the access to water, and the people.
She leaves behind her sons, Mikhail Steven Heckendorf and companion, Ashleigh Floyd, Tyrell Dominic Heckendorf and wife, Ruth Heckendorf and grandson, Henry Heckendorf, her sister, Shine (Shannon) Jensen Martin, paternal grandmother, Betty M. Jensen, and a paternal uncle, Don Jensen and wife Tammy Jensen, and her cousins: Stacie Frosheiser Brault, JO Jensen, JuneAnn Jensen Nelson and Olivia Jensen Cramm.
Stevie was preceded in death by her daughter, Jessica Lynn Heckendorf, parents, Steve and Claudia Jensen, grandparents, Robert and Dorothy Caturia, and Helmer Jensen, an aunt and uncle, Terry and Alice Frosheiser, and an uncle, Dennis Edwards.
Services will be held at Woodstock Community Church, 237 Rope Mill Rd., Woodstock, Georgia at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Stevie’s ashes will be laid to rest in the Jensen Family Plot at Riverside Cemetery in Cody, Wyoming, sometime this summer with a graveside memorial.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family asks that a donation be made to The Wounded Warriors, K9’s For Warriors or your local animal shelter. Stevie loved her dogs, and she loved dog adoption.
“The life given us, by nature is short; but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal.” -Cicero
