Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High 76F. Winds light and variable..

Clear skies. Low 53F. Winds light and variable.

Leonard Eugene Hegele passed away at his residence in St. Helens, Oregon on Wed., Aug. 17, 2022, at the age of 75. He was born Oct. 15, 1946, to Mark Hegele and Annie Griffiths (Duris), and had two younger sisters.

Leonard graduated from St. Helens High School in 1965 and worked at Crown Zellerbach prior to being drafted into the Army in 1966. He served in the third US Army Hospital Detachment US Army Garrison, received the National Defense Service Medal, Sharpshooter Badge (Rifle M-14), High Score Physical Training trophy, and an honorable discharge in 1968.

As a youth in St. Helens, he was a rockhound and petrified wood collector, grinding and polishing pieces and making jewelry for family and friends. Residing in St. Helens for most of his life, he also enjoyed the wide-open spaces of Montana collecting rocks, taking photographs, fishing, and hunting. He bagged a 280#, 5-point buck which made local papers.

Leonard enjoyed woodworking, making wall clocks, jewelry boxes, and display cases. He collected Indian artifacts; arrowheads, beads, cutting tools, and displayed them in cases. He read books about Native American culture, the use of the pieces he’d collected, and learned the technique to create those tools. Many artifacts were displayed in cases he made and donated to the Columbia County historical museum.

He loved panning for gold in Oregon and Montana. Although no fortune was made, he displayed his finds in small vials and gifted them to family members.

One of his last works of art was two belt buckles from a set of elk horn buttons, finished with turquoise stones in the center. He was an avid fisherman, hunter, camper, and outdoorsman. His most recent outing was a clamming trip with his son, Mike, and his grandchildren, Chayanne and Owen, to Long Beach.

He was preceded in death by both parents.

He is survived by sisters, Joan and Donna; children, Traci (Ed), Toni, Mark (Jennifer), Mike (Carrie); eight grandchildren, Brooks (Andrea), Davis (Ashley), Dorian (Taylor), Jay Cie, Tristan, Trevor, Chayanne, and Owen; and three great-grandchildren, newborns Beau, Carson, and Amelia. He cherished all his grandchildren and spoke fondly of them.

Services will be at 2 p.m. on Sept. 2, 2022 at Columbia Funeral Home with a Patriot Guard procession to Columbia Memorial Garden. All are invited. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Wounded Warrior Projects or St. Jude Hospital in his name would be appreciated.

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