Bradford Alan Heck

Bradford Alan Heck, 55, died at home April 29, 2012.

He was born Aug. 30, 1956, in St. Louis, Mo. His early life was defined by a long list of athletic accomplishments. He was a captain of the powerhouse Horton Watkins Ladue Rams football team, which won the state championship in 1974 and continued to dominate the sport in his senior year. He was chosen to the All State All Star team and attended Illinois State University on a full scholarship.

Brad was avidly pursued by St. Louis Cardinals General Manager Bing Devine, who pressed him to sign a contract his senior year. Instead, with a wink and a smile, Brad said yes to ISU, the only college that offered to allow him to play both football and baseball. After a debilitating football injury, he battled back to bat .390 and .426 his junior and senior seasons.

Brad earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and went back to college to pursue a teaching certificate at Boise State University. He taught in the tiny town of Council, Idaho, where his eight-man football team and track teams won state championships. He was the Idaho State Track Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1986. Brad earned a Master’s of Education from the University of Phoenix in 1990.

He packed his family in his old Jeep and headed for adventure in Alaska, where he took his first school principalship in the village of Northway. He often said that in the coldest place in the United States, he found the warmest friends. From the moment he walked on the property he noted the makeshift hockey rink in the adjacent field.

Brad and his beloved friend Mark Cronk coached mites, squirts, peewees and bantams so that Northway hockey would stay alive. Because officials would call a game if the thermometer dipped below minus 20, Brad would secretly warm it under his shirt to keep the games going. Travel in the Interior was cold and dangerous, and on one trip the electricity on the bus gave out at 40 below zero. Brad held a flashlight out the window to highlight the snowberm for the driver, told the kids to climb in their sleeping bags and the team soldiered on.

He was the first Alaska Gateway School District Employee of the Year. Brad continued his administrative career at Susitna Valley High School and served on committees with the Alaska School Activities Association. He traveled extensively as the elected Northwest Regional Representative for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. He retired from Wasilla High School in the mid 1990s due to illness.

He was a devoted caregiver to his younger brother, Chris, for seven years preceding his death.

Surviving are his wife of more than 30 years, Esther Churchill Heck; son, Bradford Alan Heck Jr. of Nederland, Colo.; daughter, Brittany Alexandra Heck of Port Orange, Fla.; and father-in-law, Alex B. Churchill of Tucson, Ariz., whom he “adopted” as his father in 1999 after giving him a confession of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His ashes have been combined with those of his beloved black Lab, Sally.

A celebration of life is planned for late June. Please email Bradford@mtaonline.net for details as the come available and plan to share a story.