Community supporter remembered for giving spirit

Jake Heckathorn, a man who spent more than six decades supporting his community, died Dec. 5 at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls.

He was 95. Heckathorn was both donor and volunteer to many different organizations in Whitefish.

He volunteered for North Valley Hospital for more than 50 years, and served on its board of directors and was a founding member of the North Valley Hospital Foundation. He was a key player in the fundraising efforts for the new hospital building constructed in 2007.

The hospital, along with the Whitefish Community Library, has been the primary beneficiaries of his and his wife Connie’s generosity.

In 2016, the North Valley Hospital Foundation honored Heckathorn for his efforts with a lifetime achievement award.

Carol Blake, who was a nurse at North Valley and later executive director of the North Valley Hospital Foundation, worked with Heckathorn during the inception of the foundation. She said Heckathorn provided legal guidance and was truly supportive through every step of starting the foundation.

“He was the most giving person I have ever met,” she said. “He wanted to safeguard healthcare for all the people that the hospital served. He was very giving of himself — mentoring anyone and giving anything to help the foundation grow.”

“The hospital was something he cherished,” she added. “He wanted the whole community to benefit from the good things going on at the hospital.”

Alan Satterlee, current executive director of the hospital foundation, said Heckathorn had a “huge impact on the community.”

“Jake played a leadership role in the capital campaign for the new hospital,” he said. “He played a key role in raising $6.7 million to help fund the new hospital.”

Fellow community supporter John Kramer says Heckathorn will be missed, calling him “irreplaceable.”

“We have sadly just lost a thoughtful, kind, generous giant in our community,” Kramer said. “Jake and his family have provided the vision, leadership and financial support for many important community institutions including the North Valley Hospital, Whitefish Library, Whitefish Community Foundation and many more.”

Heckathorn was born and raised in Wolf Creek. In 1943, he was sent to basic training and became a surgical technician in the 105th Evacuation Hospital, then transferred to a stateside MASH unit. He then volunteered for the infantry, training in France. He later enlisted in the reserves and was called to Korea before retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He eventually attended law school at the University of Montana in Missoula, and moved to Whitefish in 1954 with his wife, Connie. They have two children, a son who is deceased, and one daughter.

He spent more than 50 years as a trial attorney in Montana before he retired at age 80 in 2004 to be more active in community affairs.

Heckathorn was involved in the Rotary Club, Masons, Lions Club, and was the second Prime Minister of the Whitefish Carnival. For several years, Heckathorn was the author of a column in the Pilot focusing on honoring the volunteers who do so much for Whitefish.

In honor of the Heckathorns decades of support for the library, in 2011 the library dedicated its meeting room to them and renaming it the Jake and Connie Heckathorn Room.

In 2003, Jake was awarded the Planetree Spirit of Caring Award. In 2014, North Valley Hospital named him as its Planetree Spirit of Community award winner. The award was also renamed the Jake Heckathorn Spirit of Community Award in his honor.