Gary Heckenlaible, 69, died Saturday, March 14, 2015, at Hospice House in Rapid City. Gary was born Jan. 2, 1946, to Edmund and Ella Heckenlaible. He lived with his parents on their farm until he went to Augustana College in 1965. Gary graduated in 1970 from Augustana with degrees in Sociology and Political Science. In 1970, Gary went to the University of Maryland in Baltimore. In 1972, he graduated with a master’s degree in Social Work/Community Organization.Gary used his community organizing degree to work all over the United States organizing housing and making health care available to poor people and other related issues. The joy he received from working with people was the love of his life.For many years Gary lived in the Black Hills and organized to protect the environment. He also cherished the many friendships he made in this area and considered them a second family. He also enjoyed hiking in the Black Hills, Badlands, and Utah.Gary treasured his mother and father. He credits them for giving them everything he needed in life to succeed. He also dearly loved his grandparents, Heckenlaible and Edelman; his sisters, Marge Wollman and JoAnne Miller, their children, Mark, Stacy, Roger, Scott, and Marcy, along with their spouses and children.Gary enjoyed work, friends, family, and the pleasures of people around him. His life was simple as he tried to avoid materialism. For Gary death was not the end, but just another beginning.