Amy Hecht was born in Manhattan, but soon after her parents moved their growing family to Tarrytown, N.Y., where she recalls an idyllic childhood. She spent summers with her maternal grandmother in Maine. Amy remembers big holiday gatherings with extended family and fun-loving cousins. Amy loved school, friends, sledding, riding her bike all over town, participating in organized group activities and attending church with a close-knit community of families.

Amy Hecht’s parents valued higher education and those expectations found fertile ground in Amy. She majored in political science at Swarthmore College, went on to earn a degree in nursing at the University of Buffalo and attain a Master’s Degree in Community Health at Yale University.

It was at Yale where Amy met a young PhD candidate in chemical engineering, Jim Hecht. They initially met at a dance at Yale, but it was some time later that a chance encounter in town led them to get to know one another better. They married in 1953 and spent 64 years together before Jim passed away in 2018.

Amy and Jim reared three children, Charlie, Maggie and Andy. In addition, Amy had a long and successful career in nursing education, starting at the State University of New York at Buffalo, then Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Delaware. After receiving a doctorate degree in education from the University of Virginia, Dr. Hecht became interested in university administration, first as the assistant dean for the College of Nursing at the University of Delaware. She retired as Dean of the College of Health Professions at Temple University. Hecht was a leader in the development of hospice care in the United States and was an invited speaker at the Senate hearings that resulted in Medicare covering the costs of hospice.

As President of the Delaware Board of Nursing from 1982 to 1984, Dr. Hecht met several times for breakfast with the Chairman of the state Republican Party who was a lobbyist for the medical society. Together they modified a proposed nurse practice act (still in effect) that allowed nurses with the proper credentials to become nurse practitioners to make it acceptable to the medical community. The modified proposal was passed unanimously by the legislature and signed by the governor.

Among her many honors, Dr. Hecht was a member of the American Academy of Nursing. She gave many lectures on end-of-life issues and nursing education in the United States and in Ukraine, Nepal, Lebanon and Russia.

Amy and Jim combined their professional careers, knowledge and shared interest in social justice, global health and a desire to address unmet needs in countries with weak health care networks. They traveled extensively, visiting 62 countries together and took an interest in the lives of local people trying to care for their families. Rather than just reminiscing about their trips through photos upon their return home, they pondered how they could energize their networks in the U.S. to champion the needs in often-overlooked countries. Through their collaborative efforts with local community leaders, they were able to foster increased concern, raise considerable funds and see solutions materialize that changed the lives of families, women and children in other parts of the world.

In 1997, Jim and Amy moved to Denver and joined Montview, where Amy was asked to chair the Global Mission Committee. This was the beginning of the Hechts’ involvement with Patan Hospital and Jim’s chairmanship of the American charity, Friends of Patan Hospital.

One of the Montview Global Mission partnerships promoted by Jim and Amy has been with iDE, International Development Enterprises, which helps Nepalese farmers improve their income and production through better use of water, seeds and farming techniques. Through this partnership, Amy and Jim found that high-quality Nepalese tea is not marketed in the U.S. The couple’s daughter, Maggie Le Beau, created Nepali Tea Traders, and the Nepali tea is now carried by Whole Foods in Colorado, online and at many tea shops in North America and Europe.

In 2010, Jim and Amy moved to Vi, a senior community in Highlands Ranch. While Amy is alone these days, she remains active in social activities and community affairs while enjoying her growing family, which includes three great-grandchildren and one more expected this month (in October). She credits her longevity to having been brought up with a very Christian approach to life. ‘Do unto others” was a family value that continues to direct Amy’s family and enrich her life.

– Submitted by Linda Orosz