Henry Jake Heppner

“Jake” as we all knew him was born the 4th of 6 children on May 8, 1930 to Henry Heppner and Myrtle Booth in Landusky, MT. He was predeceased by 2 sons, Jake and Guy, and siblings Harold, Vesta, Thelma, and Jack. He is survived by his brother Wayne, son, George, long time loving partner, Shirley Meilicke, grandchildren Michael Heppner, Nick Heppner, Zach Heppner, Jessie Heppner, Shannon Lee, Chad Heppner, Jenny Gray, Sara Ortegon, his many half siblings Fred, Paul, James, Dave, Kathy, Joel, Marilee, Steve, Martha Anne, and more great grandchildren, nieces and nephews than he often said he could count.

Jake grew up in Landusky and as a child had plenty of company in his brothers and sisters. He was good with numbers early and often asked his teacher for “arithmetic” problems to work on the chalkboard. His mother passed when he was only 7 and times were hard. The kids raised themselves mostly, the siblings trading off sheepherding in the Missouri River Breaks. His father remarried and had 9 children over the years, so there were even more kids. Family remembers him having a short fuse even back then and finding himself in situations. He finished school at 8th grade.

Jake joined the Army in 1951 and served in the Korean War for 2 years, he didn’t speak much of those years, however when he returned he went home to spend time with his sister, Vesta (Arleda).

He married Laura Mae Duncan in 1953 and they had the 3 boys. They moved around quite a bit for Jakes’ work when the kids were small, before he took a job with Peter Kiewit and Sons in Washington and Oregon, working on the major rivers and the dams being built at the time. He earned many awards during his time with the company. From there he went to Alaska to work on the pipeline in the mid 1970’s.

He met Shirley Meilecke around 1994, and they obviously hit it off as they remained a steadfast couple for almost 30 years. They much of their time traveling, visiting and making friends, and playing golf in the many places they went, particularly Palm Springs where they shared a second home for many years. In his later years, he loved to take drives to get out and see things, tending to his yard, he loved his flowers and the birds that came and he made sure they were all well taken care of. There will be a short memorial service at the Eagle Point National Cemetery at 1:00 pm followed by a celebration of life at the Ashpole Community Center in Eagle Point. All are invited to come share time with the family and share your stories of a life well lived.