Heather
1976-2017

 

She will be missed.  She was loved.  She was liked.  She made us all laugh so hard.  I remember so many funny jokes with her.  She had such a great laugh. 

​

Heather cared about people.  She had a huge heart and felt pain deeply.  Sometimes too deeply.  Her pain, and everyone else’s pain too.  And that made it hard for her to cope. 

​

She was abused as a young girl.  She had a baby that was still-born.  She had mental-health struggles.  And she was a drug-addict.

 

She worked so hard to get clean and stay in recovery.  And there were times she was happy, joyous, and free.  But, sometimes the darkness would creep back in. 

​

I wish I had not ignored the red-flags.  We found her on a Saturday morning.  She left behind her three beautiful children, who she loved and adored.  She left a big family who loved and cared for her and spent years trying to help her.  She left behind a big church family and lots of friends. 

  

She was attending classes to be a peer coach for others in addiction.  She did service work in her recovery program.  She encouraged her friends and people she had just met.  She loved her job working with animals at a local veterinarian’s office.

 

The hardest part of losing Heather was that she was so much light to the community.  She struggled, but kept on fighting.  She was growing and no matter how down she got, she always worked to climb back out of the darkness.  Her accidental overdose left us all with broken hearts. 

​

Our hope is that by opening Heather’s House, we can honor her memory and create the legacy she deserves.  We want her children to be proud of their mom.  She loved each of them.  She talked about each of them, EVERYDAY. 

​

I know I will see you again Heather.  We all loved you and miss you.

I am a better person because you came into my life.