The Heckler Family

Mark and Veronica Heckler will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in May.  They grew up together in Windber, Pa., a small coal-mining town east of Pittsburgh, and began dating after becoming better acquainted through high school marching band (he played four instruments and she was captain of the color guard).  They were married while Mark was enrolled in graduate school.

Mark is a son of Donald and Cecelia Heckler, who still live in Windber.  He has a brother, Brian Heckler, a partner with KPMG in Chicago.  Veronica is the daughter of Martha Makuch, who also lives in Windber, and the late Andrew Makuch Sr., who passed away in 1990. Veronica has a brother, Andrew Makuch Jr., a firefighter in Manassas, Va.

Mark and Veronica have four children.

Zachary Heckler (26) is an entrepreneur and owner of Aspire Network Solutions, a customized software design and on-site technical solutions company based in Boulder, Colo. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado Denver with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering.

Jocelyn Earnest Heckler (24), who has a bachelor of arts degree in poetry from Colorado College, graduated this month from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a master’s in English literature. She and her husband of one year, Evan Earnest Heckler, are moving to Madison, Wis., in January and Evan will begin a Ph.D. program in geology at the University of Wisconsin.

Miranda Heckler (22) graduated last May from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with a B.A. in English and secondary school teaching licensure. Miranda has been traveling since graduation and is contemplating a move next year to Melbourne, Australia. She is taking graduate coursework in English literature at the University of Colorado Denver.

Susanne Heckler (20) is a junior double majoring in international affairs and environmental studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She interns in a local law office and is active in planning the annual University of Colorado at Boulder Conference on World Affairs. Susanne hopes to pursue a law degree upon graduation.