Virginia Louise Aamodt Hecht, beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend, passed away peacefully at home in Arvada, CO on May 12, 2026 at the age of 103.

Born into a large and close-knit family of Norwegian Lutheran farmers and pastors, she was a person of deep Christian faith and with strong ties to her Norwegian-American heritage.

Virginia was born in Minneapolis, MN on November 22, 1922, the second daughter of Otis Marvin Aamodt and Clara Alvilde Kvaase. She grew up in south central Wisconsin along with her three sisters, Agnes, Joan, and Karen. After her father died in a car accident in 1937 the family split up, and Virginia lived with an aunt in Park Ridge, IL before enrolling at Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN, where she completed high school, earned an associate degree, and discovered what became a life-long love of classical music.

In 1944, Virginia completed a B.S. in Secondary Education with majors in Latin and library science at the University of Minnesota, and began teaching Latin at Luther Institute in Chicago, taking more library science courses in the summer. While in Chicago she lived at the Eleanor Club, a famous boarding house for women. In July of 1948, Virginia sailed to Bremerhaven, Germany aboard the USAT Blanche F. Sigman and began a two and a half year assignment as a U.S. European Command Special Services Librarian. She served in libraries in Munich, Berlin and Welz, Austria; her longest assignment was at the 98th General Hospital in Munich. Her experiences in Europe were among the most important of her life, shaping her perspective on and interest in world cultures, history, music, art and food.

Virginia returned to the US in 1951 and met Melvin Hecht, a fellow teacher at Luther High School South in Chicago. They married in Minneapolis on June 29, 1952 and moved to Lawrence, KS where Mel began a Ph.D. in Geography. Their first child, daughter Mari, was born in 1954, their ‘graduate school baby’. The family moved to Tucson, AZ in 1956 where Mel began a career as Geography professor at the University of Arizona. Daughter Joanna was born in 1957 and son John in 1959.

Virginia completed her M.Ed. in Library Science at the University of Arizona in 1971. She organized the library at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and then worked as an elementary school Librarian and Resource Librarian for Tucson Unified School district until her retirement in 1987. She was particularly gifted in storytelling and fostered a love of reading and books among students, neighbor children, and of course her own children and grandchildren. She was a member of the American LibraryAssociation, the Arizona State Library Association, and the International Reading Association.

Beyond books, her other great passions were music, knitting, Viking history and travel. She enjoyed the piano and especially the recorder, playing in schools and churches with a recorder ensemble. She would knit up to six hours a day for charity and family. Virginia was a member of the Tucson Recorder Society, the Old Pueblo Knitters, and the Tucson chapter of the Norseman’s Federation, a board member of the Friends of the Tucson Public Library, and a lifelong Lutheran and member of Our Savior’s, Tucson and St. Andrew, Arvada. In 2014 she moved permanently to Arvada to be close to her daughter, Mari.

Virginia was a world traveler, starting with her years in post-WWII Europe. Before his death in 1985, she and Mel traveled all over the USA and to Germany and Scandinavia. After her retirement Virginia traveled frequently with her sisters, family and friends, visiting Norway, Iceland, and most of Europe, Russia, Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, Senegal, and all 50 U.S. states. When asked, she said her favorite place to visit was Iceland.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Melvin Edwin Hecht, her sisters Agnes Marie Aamodt, Joan Elizabeth Aamodt Draeb and Karen Andrea Aamodt, and her niece Karen Draeb Hays. She is survived by her children, Mari Hackbarth (Ken) of Westminster, CO, Joanna Gipson (Terry) of Stillwater, OK, and John Hecht (Angie) of Ventura, CA; by her grandchildren Kallie Swanbom (Lief), Burns, WY, Ellie Hackbarth, Colorado Springs, CO, Philip Gipson (Margaret), Cortland, NY, Andrew Gipson, Stillwater, OK, Martha Gipson, Orlando, FL, Alexandra Ross (Cameron), Ventura, CA, and Katherine Hecht, San Francisco, CA; her great grandchildren Alice, Peter and John Gipson of Cortland; her niece Betsy Kelly (Mike), Plainwell, MI, and her nephew George Draeb (Joan), Sturgeon Bay, WI, and many grand-nieces and nephews.

An intrepid woman of boundless curiosity, Virginia loved picnics, fires, chocolate ice cream, wild-flowers, the Sonoran Desert, champagne, ships, J.S. Bach, and crossword puzzles.

A memorial service will be held on June 5, 2026 at 3:00 P.M. at Lutheran Church of Hope, 1305 West 10th Ave, Broomfield, CO 80020. Donations in Virginia’s honor may be made to Friends of the Pima County Library (pimafriends.com) and/or Lutheran Disaster Response (elca.org).