What a Lovely Lady She Was...

What a lovely lady she was. Heidi impressed me from the day I met her as sunshine, ambition, and intrigue with life all in one. I was always comfortable in her company - she had a way of relaxing the atmosphere so anyone around her could be themselves.

She had a quiet enthusiasm in gatherings that occasionally bursted in her cute laughter. What surprised me was that one could assume Heidi was demure but the great surprise about her seemingly demure exterior was her inner steeliness. She amazed me more than once with her bravery on the trails of rugged Oahu. She was always trying something new, exploring a new place, discovering a new aspect of life, continually searching for adventure.

I recall laughing a rainy afternoon away with her in Molokai inside a tent under the Kaala trees in pouring rain. We were joking with Brian that we were ready to check into the bed and breakfast around the bend. We fended off his refusal with more laughing in our little cubby. Hah! she swam to shore from the boat that delivered us to Molokai like a fish - no one even noticed that she was uncomfortable in the water.

She was an integral member of the Au Street family on the North Shore. We all loved her. The more I learned about her - her past experiences (Japan, KU, High School achievements, home life), current challenges (graduate study at UH, part-time work, buddy parachuting, hiking, full time work at Tripler, working at the Cancer Research Center), and future hopes (peace corps? hiking all of Hawaii, exploring more, expanding her responsibilities at Tripler) - the more I liked her. There was such depth in this lady. There was much promise. It was always stimulating to find out what she was 'cooking' up. She added so much, she kept our military brethren balanced with a refreshing perspective, different information, and wonderful companionship. Thank you for bringing her to this world. We were all glad to know her and were enriched by her.

Excerpts of E-mail from:
Jen Crawford 12/2/97
 
 

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