Alice Acton Heckert

September 29, 1951 – October 31, 2024

Alice Acton Heckert, age 73, of Lake City, Florida, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 31, 2024, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Alice was a loving wife, devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her life was a tapestry woven with threads of love, kindness, and strength, and she found joy in life’s simplest pleasures, sharing that joy with everyone she met.

As a young woman, Alice joined the USAF, where she served as a Weather Observer. It was there she met her first husband, Ray Grimm, who remained a trusted friend through the years. Inspired by her sense of duty and love for her country, Alice later joined the Navy, where she worked in Intelligence, transcribing coded radio signals. Proudly serving in two branches of the armed forces, Alice cherished the honor of serving her country and carried her pride in being a veteran throughout her life.

Aspiring to complete her college education, Alice proudly earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgia Southwestern State University in 1991. Shortly thereafter, she devoted her life to sobriety, a commitment that became a cornerstone for the next 31 years. Through her work with Alcoholics Anonymous and as the Alaska State Representative for Celebrate Recovery, Alice dedicated herself to healing from addiction and touched countless lives, offering hope and encouragement to those facing their own struggles.

Alice’s professional life also included roles as a Wilderness Camp host, a missionary leader to native communities in Alaska, and an educator in both Florida and Alaska. After marrying her husband, Don, in 2003, she moved to Alaska, where she lived for 20 years before returning to Florida in July of 2023.

An avid lover of biking, hiking, swimming, reading, and painting, Alice also had dreams to one day hike the Appalachian Trail. Her creativity and adventurous nature also fueled her love for travel, especially when it brought her back to Texas and Florida to visit her beloved children and grandchildren.

In recent years, Alice was actively involved in politics, driven by a desire to foster change, especially at the local and state levels. Her commitment to civic engagement reflected her belief in the importance of contributing to her community and making a difference.

Alice is survived by her husband, Donald Heckert; daughter, Jenny (Gino) Cannon; son, Fred (Hilary) Grimm; grandchildren, Emily (Evan) DeCosta, Karigan, Chad, and Jenna Faith Cannon, Andrew, Lucas, and Gigi Grimm; great-granddaughter, Ellie Grace DeCosta; her ever faithful Chihuahua, Salmon; and large extended family of many treasured friends and relatives.

Alice will be remembered for her unwavering faith in God, compassionate spirit, and the profound legacy of love and cherished memories she leaves behind. Though we deeply feel her absence, the beautiful life she led and the joy she imparted will continue to inspire us. Her memory will serve as a guiding light, forever loved, and incredibly missed by all who had the honor of knowing her.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Hopeful Baptist Church, 289 S.E. Hopeful Drive in Lake City, Florida, on Friday, December 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made in Alice’s memory to:

* Celebrate Recovery at https://celebraterecovery.com/

or * Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at https://pancan.org/