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Renee, Walter, Craig, thank you
for the gift of Heather. We all gather here today, in
very large numbers, to pray for, remember, and honor a
remarkable young woman whom we know as daughter, sister,
friend, coach, teacher, transplant recipient, and cancer
patient. But these titles only just begin to describe
the special person who was HEATHER JOY WILSON. Renee and
Walt, how did you ever know when she was a baby, that
her middle name would be so appropriate? Heather exuded
JOY!
Heather's SMILE lit up the lives
of all of us here today, and countless others! At River
Falls, where she swam and coached for 25 years, a smile
and hug from Heather were all that many of our children
needed to get them to early morning swim practice - or
to do anything else she asked, for that matter! Her
smile and encouragement could convince any swimmer, even
the most reluctant, to practice harder, swim faster, and
give each race his or her best! Heather had ways of
involving everyone in the community, starting with the
littlest children. We will always remember the
enthusiasm with which she organized and ran the annual
Lollipop Meet. All of us have stories to tell about how
she worked her magic on us! What charm she had!
Heather had a SENSE of HUMOR,
too! There was always lots of laughter while working
with her. There was another side of Heather that
sometimes appeared, and that was her FEISTINESS. I can
recall a swim meet early in her `coaching career, when
the times were not going in River Falls' favor. All of a
sudden, a lone voice sounded from across the pool,
directed toward the referee, "Mr. Wilson, don't be
afraid to let the timers know it's okay to get their
shoes wet and lean over the edge of the pool!"
Besides the ubiquitous cup of
Starbucks and strand of pearls, Heather's real
trademarks were THOUGHTFULNESS, KINDNESS, and
UNDERSTANDING. Cookies from Heather were the perfect
gift for someone who needed to be uplifted,
congratulated, or thanked. She, of all people,
understood another's pain, and was the first to offer a
reassuring word or gesture. Heather was always
comforting others, when she herself was the one who was
hurting.
And this brings me to . . .
Heather's COURAGE, tremendous courage in the face of
suffering. Heather endured many, many years of doctors'
visits, procedures, kidney dialysis, surgeries,
chemotherapy treatments, radiation, and so on. But one
would never even guess this from her demeanor. A friend
of ours, who met Heather recently, described her as "a
person of such beauty. I could just sense it." Heather's
relentless courage, her "never give up" spirit, her
perseverance with a smile in doing her jobs — coaching
or teaching — in spite of illness and difficult
treatments, have been, and always will be, PURE
INSPIRATION for all of us! Heather gave it her all, even
when she didn't feel like it! How often she came
directly from dialysis or chemotherapy to coach our
kids! How could, or can, any of us complain about a bad
day, knowing what she faced every day for many years,
with a smile and kind words to others? It is no wonder
she could work wonders with our children and ourselves!
As her father said, Heather
touched so many lives, and so many lives touched hers!
She has left her indelible mark in our hearts! In short,
HEATHER JOY WILSON will always be the best role model
for living that any of us could ever have! Thank you,
God, for the gift of Heather!
Vince Vaghi
On Behalf of The River Falls Swim Team
Heather's Memorial Service
December 20, 2003 |
