May 17, 1950 – November 30, 2020

The Heckert Family lost Charles Russell Heckert ( Chuck) on November 30, 2020 passing away of cancer. Chuck was described as a Father, brother, friend, mentor, coach, ski jumping judge, and cancer survivor for 20 years, but that did not define him. Kind, generous, humble, and loving defined Chuck. He was a person of passion and devotion to his loving wife Jannett and two sons Scott and Danial. The friendships from around the world that Chuck gained with simple ethics and tireless pursuits of his skiing career took him from a small town in Colorado (Grand Lake) literally around the world. His career covered being an athlete, a coach, an international ski jumping judge and an Olympic venue manager in Park City for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Chuck passed away in his 70th year of life having had significant ties to both communities he called home. He was born on May 17, 1950 in the tiny summer resort town of Grand Lake, Colorado. Chuck cultivated many interests and lifelong friendships that lasted a lifetime being raised alongside his brother Jerry by their parents Louie and Glayds Heckert. He attended elementary school in Grand Lake while attending both middle school and high school in Granby, Colorado at Middle Park High School. After attending Western State College on football and ski scholarships in Gunnison he returned to Granby, Colorado. Chuck was married on May 17, 1969 at the Church of the Pines to Jannett Elaine Ellis with both sons soon to follow. Chuck gave much of his time to serve the community as a reserve policeman, a volunteer fireman, and little league baseball coach. Chuck coached ski jumping for almost two decades (1976 -1992) at the Competition Center for Winter Park Ski Resort. He had many full time jobs that supported his life long passion of ski jumping, Chuck was a Landfill manager, milk man, and a maintenance man before moving to Park City, Utah.

In the fall of 1992 he moved to Park City to become the Utah Winter Sports Park Facility Manager. Chuck managed the ski jumps and freestyle venues along with starting the new ski jumping club in Park City. Chuck had started judging ski jumping in the early 80’s but reached the highest level of judging in 1993 becoming a FIS International Ski Jumping Judge. He was a FIS official and sat on several international ski jumping committees for several years. In June of 1995 the IOC chose Salt Lake City to host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, on that June day his dreams were almost complete. The next 7 years were spent judging tournaments all over the world and molding the ski jump complex in Park City. Chuck was part of the great team that built the Olympic Ski Jump venue and its legacy. In December of 2001 Chuck had his first bout with cancer, but not even cancer would sideline him for The 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Chuck left the Utah Olympic Park in 2002 but continued to be involved at every level of nordic skiing. He lent his knowledge and support to Women’s ski jumping and could not have been prouder when women’s ski jumping gained Olympic status in 2014. Chuck taught nortic judging seminars and continued to judge and officiate competitions. His last FIS competition was as Assistant Chief of Comp for the 2017 Nordic Junior World Ski Championships. The Utah Olympic Park honored Chuck in February of 2017 by naming a road after him “The Heckert Highway” for his honorable years of service. 2017 was a big year, Chuck was presented the USSA Mittelstadt Award for Ski Jumping Officials and was also inducted into the American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame. The Heckert family grew over time in Park City with four grandchildren that he loved so very much , James Dainal, Nakita, Demetrie, and Destinee. Last but not least Chuck and Jannett celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family in May of 2019. The celebration was a tribute to the love they shared for five decades, the many miles traveled all around the world, and all the people they called family.

In Lieu of gifts or flowers please help our family with a donation to Primary Children’s Hospital in Chuck’s name. USE THIS LINK https://bit.ly/3mmyUBv

We would like to thank everyone for the love and outreach we have received.

There are a few family that must be mentioned: The Todd Family, The Clark Family, The Ellars-Rains Family, The Ellis Family, The Hahn Family, The Dailey Family, The Garrett Family, The Sulak Family, The Mahoney Family, The Stuart Family, The Stroheker Family, The Rotermund Family, The MacKay Family, The Hansen Family, and The Poirier Family.