Obituaries

I remember Heather walking her old black lab on Bayswater Beach and swimming in all seasons. And I rmember an old gentleman who was a keen swimmer--Heather's father I believe.

I have been struggling to find the right words to express my sorrow at Heather's passing. She started as a work mentor and quickly became one of my dearest friends. We shared challenging times and happy times together and on many occasions laughed until we cried. One of my fondest memories is lying on the beach with Heather at Bayswater in the dark watching shooting stars and listening to (what we hoped) was a fox rustling in the bushes. We were simply both in awe of nature that night in the darkness, both of us way too chicken to dip our toes in that frigid water. I will miss Heather. Even with our physical distance over the years, she was truly a wonderful friend and I feel blessed that she came into my life.

The best memories I have of Heather was when we were children. We were only 2 months apart in age, and only daughters of our Mothers. We were together every Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, and many other times throughout the years. So many memories!

It has always been wonderful to talk with Heather and no matter what was happening, the twinkle in her eye and her interest in how everyone was doing lit up our days and sent us on our way stronger and happier. We loved hearing about her swims and realized early on that she was truly a mermaid. We are so fortunate to have known her and she will be greatly missed. Especially when the ocean sparkles, we will smile and think of her. Sue Clarke

Heather was my much loved sister in law for those 31 years. I couldn't have asked for a better one. Family reunions or Florida winters were always much more fun with Heather around sharing her smiles and talk, talk, talking. I will miss her very much. Gary McOrmond

The beach. The sacred strand of sand. Where Heather swam in almost any wave-and-water condition. The joy of being weightless in the water, the pleasure of the stretch from every stroke and kick, the fun of riding up and over the waves, and the euphoria of the endorphin rush once we exited the ocean, was the perfect pleasure drug. How to get more of it? How to make it last longer? The answer was so simple. We had shortie wetsuits that enabled us to stay in the chilly water longer, as well as starting our swim season a little earlier in the spring, and ending it a little later in the fall. But after a while not even the shorties were enough. After several conversations, and some waffling, we said, "To Hell with it." We went to the dive shop and got ourselves full-body wetsuits. It was soooo very worth it! The first swim in the new suits was in late May, 2022. Water temperature was 8°C. Damn cold. We got into that frigid water and began to swim. In no time our hands and feet stopped hurting and went numb. Heather started doing "jazz hands," in a vain attempt to get the blood flowing. We stuck it out, laughing and giggling, for ten freezing minutes. Then we stumped out onto the sand and struggled with wooden hands to unfasten the new wetsuits, peel them off, and get into something warm and dry. It was terrific! At $250 for the wetsuit, our ten minutes rang up at $25 per minute. By November 3rd, our last swim for the 2022 season, the rate on the wetsuits was down to less than $0.50 per minute. Well worth the small cost for such immeasurable fun! That was Heather, to the core.