Harry W. "Sonny" Heckler

Harry W. “Sonny” Heckler, 90, of Cambridge passed away on Friday, June 29, 2018 at Chesapeake Woods Center.  He was born in Abington Township, PA on August 28, 1927 to the late Wilson Bishop Heckler and Leah Yoder Heckler.

In 1945, Sonny joined the United States Navy.  On September 2, 1950, he married the former Freida Ryan, who passed away on December 21, 2008.  Sonny owned Heckler Motor Parts, Inc. in Cambridge, which he ran until he retired in 1996.  Upon retirement, he and his wife moved to North Ft. Myers, Florida.  He lived the entirety of his long life with honor and integrity, and always gave his fellow man the benefit of the doubt.  He enjoyed golfing and playing cards, especially bridge and poker.  Sonny loved spending time with his family, especially his grandkids.  He enjoyed being outdoors, whether it was to pick crabs or just to piddle.  Sonny will be remembered for being a patriotic American, a friend to all and always having a gentle heart.

Sonny was a member of the B.P.O.E. Elks Lodge 1272, Choptank Memorial Post 7460 V.F.W., American Legion Post 91, and the Cambridge Country Club.  He also served on the Board for multiple community banks.  He was a lifetime member of Grace United Methodist Church and a Founding Member of the Cambridge Little League.

Sonny is survived by his son Mark Heckler and his wife Jan of Cambridge, daughter Kelley Heckler Carouge and her husband David of Oxford, 5 grandchildren J. Ryan Bishop Heckler and wife Jennifer, Emily Heckler Ruark and husband Aaron, Elysha Marie Carouge, David Trevor Bishop Carouge, Mason Harrison Carouge and wife Catherine, 3 great grandchildren Keane Quimby Carouge, Clare Ryan Counts Carouge, and Mazie Louise Heckler, nieces and nephews Louis Albert Wheeler, Bonnie Wheeler Kimmett, Jeffrey Scott Dayton, Leonard W. Dayton, Jr., George Ray, and Kimberly Ray Stypeck.  Besides his parents and his wife, Sonny is preceded in death by a sister Arlene Heckler Wheeler, a sister in law and brother in law Etta and Leonard Dayton and a niece Lennette  D. Satchell.

Pallbearers will be Mickey Foxwell, Larry Foxwell, Jay Dayton, Jeff Dayton, Aaron Ruark, Jamie Kimmett, and Jim Brewer.  Honorary pallbearers will be Glen Robinson, Donald Creighton, William Q. Parks, Jim Benjamin, Robert Tieder, Ray Harrison, Tommy Anderson, as well as his Comrades of the American Legion Post 91.

A funeral service will be held on Monday July 9, 2018 at Thomas Funeral Home, P.A. in Cambridge at 11:30 AM with Rev. Steve Bloodsworth officiating.  Interment will follow at the Maryland Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery in Hurlock, MD.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Legion Post 91 Building Fund, P.O. Box 70, Cambridge, MD 21613.