Obituary of Bryce Hecht

HECHT BRYCE

Bryce A. Hecht, age 90, of Menno, SD passed away Sunday, July 28, 2024 at the Menno-Olivet Care Center, Menno, SD.  Funeral services will be 10:30 am, Tuesday August 6 at the Salem Reformed Church in Menno with Rev. Michael Hecht officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in the Menno Cemetery at approximately 2:00 PM. Opsahl-Kostel Memorial Chapel of Menno is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent at: www.opsahl-kostelfuneralhome.com.  Live streaming can be found at: https://server.attend.live/static/event/YEMrK. 

                Bryce Arlon Hecht, son of Walter and Lena (Boehmer) Hecht was born in Pawnee County, near DuBois, NE, on November 1, 1933.  He attended grades one through eight in a one room country school and graduated from DuBois Public High School in 1951.  During his senior year he felt the call of God to study for the ordained Christian ministry.  With the guidance of his pastor, Rev. Lowell Ferguson, at Friedens Evangelical and Reformed Church of Bern, Kansas, Bryce went to College and Theological Seminary on the campus of Mission House College and Seminary, located near Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

                Bryce was united in marriage with Ina Hunzeker at Friedens Church on June 9, 1957.  In the summer of 1957, they lived in Zeeland, ND, where Bryce served as student pastor of St. John and New Kassel Reformed Churches.  Following graduation from Seminary in the spring of 1958, Bryce was ordained into the Christian ministry on June 15, 1958 in Friedens Church.  Then he and Ina returned to Zeeland, to continue ministry there until the summer of 1962.  Their daughter, Lori, and twin sons, Mark and Michael were born in Eureka, SD, during that time.  Bryce answered a call to pastor Zion United Church of Christ (now known as Zion Countryside Church) of rural Gladstone, NE.  The family served that parish from August of 1962 to 1972.  Their youngest son, Scott, was born in Fairbury, NE.

                Other congregations where Bryce served were:  Arlington Community Church, Arlington, NE (1972-1978); Salem Reformed Church, Menno, SD (1978-1985); First Congregational UCC, Neligh, NE (1985-1997).  During his years in Nebraska, Bryce also served at times as Interim Pastor at Alexandria, Brunswick, Jansen and Tilden, NE.  Bryce retired from full time ministry in October, 1997 due to ill health.  He and Ina moved to Sioux Falls, SD, late December 1997 to be near their son, Mark and family.  As his health improved he served as Interim Pastor for 9 months at Scotland, SD, and for 9 months at Mobridge, SD.  Bryce finished his years of pastoral ministry by serving as the part time pastor at the Congregational Church at Winfred, SD, from October 2000 until November 22, 2016, driving 132 miles round trip from Sioux Falls each Sunday.  His devoted wife, Ina, was always by his side, often playing the piano or organ for the worship services.  During his years of ministry he participated in Jr. High church camps as small group leader or Camp Dean in North Dakota, Nebraska, and South Dakota.  Bryce was always actively involved in the communities where he served throughout the years.  

                Bryce is survived by his four children:  Lori (Chuck) Wright, Warsaw, MO;  Mark (Carmen) Hecht, Sioux Falls, SD;  Michael (Ann) Hecht, Menno, SD;  Scott (Melody) Hecht, Lincoln, NE.  He is also survived by his 14 grandchildren:  Sarah (Matt) Lampitt, Elizabeth (Steve) DeLacy, Abigail (Brandon) Smith, Keegan (Alaina) Hecht, Peyton Hecht, Cale Hecht, Nathan (fiancé Katrina Moyer) Hecht, Rachael (Kaleb) Stepanek, Carissa (John) Brunk, John Hecht, Joshua Hecht, Anna Hecht, Jacob Hecht, Ella Hecht, and 10 great-grandchildren.  He is also survived by his brother, Gayle (Margaret) Hecht, Pawnee City, NE; brother-in-law Alan (Barbara) Hunzeker, Westminster, MD, sister-in-law Joan Macklem, Fremont, NE; sister-in-law Marge Hunzeker, Pawnee City, NE, and many nieces and nephews. 

                Preceding Bryce in death were his dad in 1981, and his mother in 1983; Ina, his wife of 65 years; his in-laws, Marie in 1984 and Earl in 1997 Hunzeker; his sister, Shirley (Hecht) Sisson in 1988 and brother-in-law Bill Sisson in 2022, both of Greenwood, Wisconsin.  He was also preceded in death by his brothers-in-law, Conrad Bastow, Clark Hunzeker, Roger Macklem, and his nephew Curtis Bastow. 

Special Thanks are extended to the staff and volunteers of Edgewood Vista Assisted Living, Sioux Falls, SD (Nov. 2016 to July 2023), and the Menno-Olivet Care Center for the wonderful care and kindness extended to Bryce during the last full year of his life as a resident there.  Memorials will be directed to the Menno-Olivet Care Center, 402 S Pine Street, Menno, SD  57045.