Remembering

 Remembering with sadness and a smile

    She slipped away during one of my low moments. I had a cold that turned into a major deal with a six-week check out of life requirement. When it came time for her memorial service, I was absent from the circle of remembrance. Was it the waiting at home for the CenturyLink repairman to restore our service or the dryer repair issue that distracted me? Regardless there is a void where an closure should reside. I missed being with others to share our mutual feelings of respect and love for her bright shining soul.  

Heather Halabisky

May 28, 1944 - November 11, 2024

Heather, seen here with her son Bruce, were instrumental in birth of the Bantry Bay Boat project. She worked tirelessly in conjunction with Sally Slater to bring this fragile yet amazing idea of a community boat building project to life. Heather, who was oh, all of 5 feet maybe, high had a lion's heart and a can-do attitude. If her logic wouldn't work on you then she would beam out her heart rays to convince you. Her smile and laughter were infectious equal only to the sadness that could be written all over her face if she couldn't convince you of her dream. 

This dream of hers was not for herself, it was something greater that included all souls, all willing hands; it was all inclusive. Biases that separated people into rich or poor, strong or weak, racial, gender, feelings - all separations were weeded out with love and understanding.  Her generous spirit full of kindness and love will be sorely missed in these current times. 

While her passing was not a surprise. her timing was good. She didn't need to witness the most recent degradations of American life since her passing. It would have literally broken her heart. Her spirit would not, could not have weathered it. We can only hope in her new place in heaven and in spite of her tiny frame, she is taking a sledgehammer to the walls separating people and replacing it with respect and kindness. 

I hope too that Heather will look down from her heavenly perch and send blessings down on Verite, our beloved boat, who is now residing in a new home along the Thea Foss Waterway. Fresh hands and enthusiastic leaders are continuing the community plan of "one for all" of bringing young and old alike into the boat. 

Thank you, Heather. We will think often on your spark, your enthusiasm, your kindness and your will power to make this a better world. Let it guide us through the dark waters of our times knowing the power to achieve anything is within each of us, if we have the right mind-set, and if we work together to bring out the best in each of us. 

Heather Halabisky Obituary

Heather Coles Halabisky
May 28, 1944 - November 11, 2024
Tacoma, Washington - Heather Coles Halabisky was born in Dingwall, Scotland on May 28, 1944. She left for Canada with her younger sister Zoe and mum, who was a war bride, and with her parents they settled in West Vancouver. She went to UBC and got a degree in English. There, she met a handsome man in the forestry department, Don Halabisky. Together they embarked on a life-long adventure living in Virginia, Seattle, France, Montreal, Illinois and finally settling in Tacoma, Washington. She shared her love for the NW by taking her 3 children on frequent backpacking trips and road trips up to Vancouver to keep her large and close family connected (she was the oldest of 9 children!). Heather loved Tacoma and truly wanted to make it a better place for younger generations. She worked as a teacher both in the classroom and as a French tutor and was passionate about her work with women for TCC's Welfare to Work program. She volunteered for Beyond War, The Sea Scouts helping kids build a sailboat for the Atlantic Challenge and started their Cambodian refugee program at St. Mathew's Church. She and Don organized a volunteer group to restore a local green space, Julia's Gulch. Heather loved her family, the earth and promoted peace far and wide. She is survived by her siblings, Barbara, Dan, John, Peter and Nona, her children, Bruce, Nicole and Meghan, her husband Don and their 6 grandchildren, Solianna, Seffa, Paia, Lucca, Anya and Iain. A memorial will be held at the Browns Point Improvement Club on Jan. 11 at 2 p.m.