Horst Eckel was born on February 8, 1932 in Vogelbach, Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was married to Hannelore Eckel. He died on December 3, 2021 in Vogelbach, Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
His father was a railway official from Bruchmühlbach and his mother a housewife from Vogelbach.
Has two daughters.
Through "second chance education", he trained for two years as a subject teacher for crafts, arts and physical education at the university of Trier and worked as a teacher at several schools.