Edward Jacob Hecker

Dr. Edward Jacob Hecker of Melbourne, Florida passed away peacefully at Holmes Regional Medical Center on September 10, 2025, at the age of 90. Ed will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 65 years, Carolyn B. Hecker; his children: Edward Hecker (Janet) and Kathryn Frakes (Patrick); his grandchildren: Paul Frakes (Katie), Lauren Schrader (Joseph), Daniel Frakes (Christina), Ashley Knill (Jordan) and Joshua Frakes (Costanza); and his great-grandchildren: Landon Schrader, Claire Schrader, Benjamin Frakes, Samuel Frakes and John Frakes. Ed was predeceased by his younger brother, David Arthur Hecker and his parents, Edward Jacob Hecker, Jr. and Madonna Dell Hecker.

Ed was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and moved to Florida in 1950. A proud Florida Gator, he finished his 5-year degree in Aeronautical Engineering in just 4.5 years and then came to the Cape to work on the U.S. missile program. He later earned a Master’s Degree from Florida State University. He loved telling stories about his work on the Atlas ICBM, the Mercury Program, and the Apollo program—specifically in the Apollo program’s management office as the S-1C stage manager for the Saturn V which enabled men to land on the moon! He finished his career with NASA working in the Space Shuttle program and serving on source boards for that program.

Being a life-long learner himself, Ed was a strong believer in education and chose to be a part-time professor while still working at the Cape, and he continued in that profession after retiring from the space business. He earned a second Master’s Degree and his Doctorate in Public Administration from Nova University. His aunt, Mabel, always teased him saying he wasn’t a “real doctor” because he wasn’t a medical doctor—nothing like family to keep you humble! His doctorate allowed him to teach for several universities throughout his life: Florida State University, Florida Institute of Technology, Nova University, and Webster University. He loved teaching finance and entrepreneurship and was ranked very highly by his students in their evaluations. He made learning challenging subjects interesting!

Ed was a devout Christian. Two parts of his personal mission were to be a positive Christian contributor to the intellectual advancement of mankind and to assist others in their understanding of their relationship to God, the universe, and mankind. Ed did not believe that faith and science were contradictory but rather that science pointed us toward a better understanding of our Creator.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Faith Fellowship Church, 2820 Business Center Boulevard, Melbourne, Florida 32940 on Friday, September 26th at 11:00 AM. There will be a small reception afterwards. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, you consider making a donation to one of the following charities:

National Brain Tumor Society

Heifer Project

Habitat for Humanity

Calvary Chapel of Viera

Cornerstone, An Evangelical Free Church (Annandale, VA)

Faith Fellowship Church