Terry K. Hege, formerly of Westfield NJ, and Flemington, New Jersey, passed away July 31, 2015 in Culpepper, VA, with his daughters, Melissa (nee Hege) Ayala and Becky (nee Hege) Malysa, and sons-in law, Mario Ayala and Rich Malysa. He is survived by his daughters and their husbands, and his 3 granddaughters: Aurora Ayala, Anna Sofia Ayala, and Dylan Malysa. He is also survived by his older siblings, Fredrick “Rick” Arthur Hege and Gay Lynn Hege, her life partner, David Burgos.

He was born in Occupied Europe, Linz, Austria February 27, 1949, of Emma (nee Kling) Hege & Franklin H. Hege, retired US Army Major, while his father was stationed as an occupying officer after WWII. He returned to the USA that same year to live in Ft Lewis, WA, Camp Carson, CO and Westfield, NJ before returning to Europe in 1952 when the family did a second tour of WWII Occupation in Straubing, Germany. He again returned to the USA in 1957, and then lived in Westfield, NJ; Fort Knox, KY; Fort Lee, VA; Westfield NJ; Middlesex, NJ; Ringoes, NJ; Flemington, NJ, and at the end of his life Culpepper, VA.

In his crib he became hooked on music, especially anything fast-paced, catchy and repetitive. He was drawn to anything he could wiggle to and would drum a beat on whatever piece of furniture he could get a tone from. When he discovered that the beat was better with drumsticks, chopsticks, spoons, etc., his mother despaired of having any wooden furniture without drumstick dents. He progressed to songs like Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail, which earned him the nickname “Hoppy.” By nursery school, his favorite song was from Alice In Wonderland by the White Rabbit who sang “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date,“ which he played repeatedly all day long for weeks. His mother and grandmother decided to share his love of the song by donating the record to his Nursery school class, where he led all the 3 year old white rabbits in a mad dance at any opportunity.

At the age of 4 his musical taste expanded and he delighted in waking up the household every Sunday, in Germany, at 6am with the marches of John Phillips Sousa – at full blast on the record player. This early musical activity led him to become a drummer in The Fugitives, a band during his teen years and as we know his love for music did not end there. It was an integral part of his life and loved when the music was ‘just right’, clear, crisp and LOUD!

Terry was remarkably handy and incredibly smart; he seemed to be able to build anything and then be able to recite exactly how he did it. He could fix practically anything, from electronics to automobiles. He could sew a velvet evening gown, engineer inventions, and redesign architectural projects. On his sister’s 8th birthday in Germany (Terry was 5), she received a 3-speed, electric blue, German racing bike. When everyone went inside to have cake, all of sudden there was a moment of silence and the family realized Terry was not there. Silence always meant Terry was up to something. The family ran down to the yard to find the new bike in 120 pieces, laid out in blueprint order….he had secured a screwdriver and a wrench and had completely dismantled the bike. He “wanted to find out how it worked.” He also put it back together in perfect order with his father and brother, but he was directing the operation.

It didn’t stop there. He would find radios that had been thrown out, mix parts from them, put some back in working order. The neighbors were astounded. His family knew this was just the beginning of Mr. Fix-it. He had many projects including building a cat-condo for his daughters‘ kittens, complete with electric lights and carpeting. As an adult, his employers found his many talents more than useful. He used those skills most recently while working as project lead at Celebrity Pools prior to his retirement.

From his daughters:

As a family, we grew up with wonderful memories at the farmhouse in Ringoes, NJ. From rope swings to snowmobiles we could not have asked for a better father to help facilitate the fun only a child can experience. He could cook meals that we are still talking about 39 years later, fix most anything mechanical or electrical (including the Barbie mansion), dress impeccably, or show up in a t-shirt and shorts. He introduced us to STEM before STEM was cool. He built a car for us from plywood and lawn mower parts, taught us how transistors and capacitors work, whipped us around on an inner tube behind the snowmobile, and taught us that Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture is the best classical piece for running around the living room like wild children and throwing ourselves on to couch pillows with each symbol clash and cannon blast. Refined, yet down to earth – all rolled into one.

As with most father-daughter relationships, it wasn’t always rosy. Dad had his challenges, as we all do. However, he was always our dad and regardless of the ‘ups and downs’, we were grateful that he loved us the best way that he knew how. Nothing precluded any of us from picking up the phone when we felt like we needed to check in with each other. Sometimes we went for longer stretches than others, but we always caught up with each other.

Dad’s love of music, cars, and general tinkering was likely known to all. An ideal day would have been spent working on his truck in the garage, with music playing. If anyone stopped by, he’d drop whatever he was doing, lean his arms on the bed of his truck and talk. Someday we will continue that conversation…
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A public memorial gathering will take place on Saturday, August 15, 2015 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. in Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ, followed by a memorial service at 5:30 p.m.

Interment will be private.

Please visit Terry’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com to send a public or private message of condolence and share stories and photos of his life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Hunterdon Humane Animal Shelter, 576 Stamets Road, Milford, NJ 08848.