Melissa Lancaster McCurry is fundraising
Heidi's Hope
Heidi Renee Plemmons Williams was a light in this often dark world. She chose to be of service, knowing that the mark of a good leader came in being of service to others, rather than of service to themselves.
I came to know Heidi during our time together at Peace College, a place that became our home and gave us each a set of wings to carry us through our lives. Heidi went on to become a middle school teacher, seeking out those students who struggled for acceptance and achievement, but who each found of these things in her mentorship.
April was an important month for Heidi. It was the month of her birthday, the day she started her first life in this world, bringing with her a light that shone bright with love and laughter. A light that lit her way on the darkest of days, dimmed for a bit and then was reborn on her second birthday, April 1, 2019.
The second birthday is what I choose to remember as the more important of the two. It was the day she committed to her new life, the day she committed to a fight that would not only bring her back but would give her a strength even she doubted she had within her.
She laughed when she told me she’d made this commitment on April Fool’s Day, saying that it was so appropriate because it was the end of years of foolishness for her. The most painful part of losing her in March was that she didn’t get to celebrate her first Birthday of this bright, shiny, new reality she’d built.
Long ago, in a much different time of our lives she explained to me that her birthday needed more than one day of celebration. And thus was my introduction to National Heidi Day, growing into National Heidi Week, and now National Heidi Month. When she first said these words she didn’t have a strong love for herself but by the end she had found that love. She could finally say she deserved National Heidi Month and mean it in a way of celebration, whereas before it had been her self-defense to put on a happy face when she was in agonizing pain on the inside.
April 1st, 2020 marked the beginning of my first National Heidi Month without her but I couldn’t cry for her that day. I say that not because I have healed my broken heart over her sudden death but because she wouldn’t want me to cry. She’d want me to light a candle on the top of a treat for myself and celebrate her victory. It wasn’t an easy victory for her; it was a victory won through countless small battles against some very large demons. But she did it, she beat them back with love, grace, and beauty just as she did everything else she set her mind on achieving. So I spent that day thinking of her, reaching out to another strong woman she had mentored, and telling my children stories about their "fairy godmother".
April 1st will forever be the day I remember her fight and her victory, her loss and her love, her pain and the beauty she created from it.
In her will, a beautiful expression of her last wishes, she shared a beautiful piece of writing. This was trademark Heidi, to craft words into art, to express her soul in a way many of us are not blessed with the ability to do. She wrote about her love and gratitude for her time at Peace College, saying that she’d found her wings there. She went on to lay out her wish that part of her estate be used to give back to her home away from home. She asked that a scholarship be created, asking specifically that it only ever be referred to as the HOPE Scholarship. HOPE, in her words, stands for Honoring extraOrdinary People Everyday. As she explained, this scholarship was not to go to someone who is already a standout in academics, leadership, or service but rather that it go to a student who is, as she put it, “extra ordinary but possesses the capacity to become Extraordinary through their education and time at Peace”.
You see, Heidi believed not in recognizing someone solely for their achievements but rather by their potential, a higher standard in her eyes. She believed that everyone had the potential to be better, do better, lead better, serve better, and most importantly love better. She wanted a student to be chosen who had been counted out, doubted, or overlooked because they struggled with mental illness, lack of resources, and/or past traumas. She wanted to give another young person the chance to spread their wings as she had in her time at Peace. She knew that she would have fit these criteria when entering her college career and knew the struggles this brought for her. What she also knew was that she’d been blessed to find a new home and a second family the day she first stepped onto the brick covered walkways and gazed at the fountain she’d later stand in front of to deliver the commencement address to the first class of four year graduates.
In honor of Heidi and to kick off National Heidi Month her family and I have set up a fundraiser to augment the money Heidi’s estate earmarked for the HOPE Scholarship at William Peace University. All monies raised here will go directly to William Peace University, earmarked for The Hope Scholarship.
If you are a Peace alum, I challenge you to think back to finding your own wings at Peace and help the next young person in line. If you are not an alum I hope you will give because Heidi or perhaps a teacher like her gave you wings to fly. Please know that we appreciate any amount or even just a share on your page to help us spread the word.
So many thanks to those who have reached out to Heidi’s beloved family, to me, and to each other to offer words of love and support. I hope you will join me in honoring the life of a dedicated teacher, a loyal daughter, a loving sister, a devoted friend, a beautiful fairy godmother, and a Peace Girl through and through.
And as Heidi would say, we hope you have a Super Bright Shiny Day!
I came to know Heidi during our time together at Peace College, a place that became our home and gave us each a set of wings to carry us through our lives. Heidi went on to become a middle school teacher, seeking out those students who struggled for acceptance and achievement, but who each found of these things in her mentorship.
April was an important month for Heidi. It was the month of her birthday, the day she started her first life in this world, bringing with her a light that shone bright with love and laughter. A light that lit her way on the darkest of days, dimmed for a bit and then was reborn on her second birthday, April 1, 2019.
The second birthday is what I choose to remember as the more important of the two. It was the day she committed to her new life, the day she committed to a fight that would not only bring her back but would give her a strength even she doubted she had within her.
She laughed when she told me she’d made this commitment on April Fool’s Day, saying that it was so appropriate because it was the end of years of foolishness for her. The most painful part of losing her in March was that she didn’t get to celebrate her first Birthday of this bright, shiny, new reality she’d built.
Long ago, in a much different time of our lives she explained to me that her birthday needed more than one day of celebration. And thus was my introduction to National Heidi Day, growing into National Heidi Week, and now National Heidi Month. When she first said these words she didn’t have a strong love for herself but by the end she had found that love. She could finally say she deserved National Heidi Month and mean it in a way of celebration, whereas before it had been her self-defense to put on a happy face when she was in agonizing pain on the inside.
April 1st, 2020 marked the beginning of my first National Heidi Month without her but I couldn’t cry for her that day. I say that not because I have healed my broken heart over her sudden death but because she wouldn’t want me to cry. She’d want me to light a candle on the top of a treat for myself and celebrate her victory. It wasn’t an easy victory for her; it was a victory won through countless small battles against some very large demons. But she did it, she beat them back with love, grace, and beauty just as she did everything else she set her mind on achieving. So I spent that day thinking of her, reaching out to another strong woman she had mentored, and telling my children stories about their "fairy godmother".
April 1st will forever be the day I remember her fight and her victory, her loss and her love, her pain and the beauty she created from it.
In her will, a beautiful expression of her last wishes, she shared a beautiful piece of writing. This was trademark Heidi, to craft words into art, to express her soul in a way many of us are not blessed with the ability to do. She wrote about her love and gratitude for her time at Peace College, saying that she’d found her wings there. She went on to lay out her wish that part of her estate be used to give back to her home away from home. She asked that a scholarship be created, asking specifically that it only ever be referred to as the HOPE Scholarship. HOPE, in her words, stands for Honoring extraOrdinary People Everyday. As she explained, this scholarship was not to go to someone who is already a standout in academics, leadership, or service but rather that it go to a student who is, as she put it, “extra ordinary but possesses the capacity to become Extraordinary through their education and time at Peace”.
You see, Heidi believed not in recognizing someone solely for their achievements but rather by their potential, a higher standard in her eyes. She believed that everyone had the potential to be better, do better, lead better, serve better, and most importantly love better. She wanted a student to be chosen who had been counted out, doubted, or overlooked because they struggled with mental illness, lack of resources, and/or past traumas. She wanted to give another young person the chance to spread their wings as she had in her time at Peace. She knew that she would have fit these criteria when entering her college career and knew the struggles this brought for her. What she also knew was that she’d been blessed to find a new home and a second family the day she first stepped onto the brick covered walkways and gazed at the fountain she’d later stand in front of to deliver the commencement address to the first class of four year graduates.
In honor of Heidi and to kick off National Heidi Month her family and I have set up a fundraiser to augment the money Heidi’s estate earmarked for the HOPE Scholarship at William Peace University. All monies raised here will go directly to William Peace University, earmarked for The Hope Scholarship.
If you are a Peace alum, I challenge you to think back to finding your own wings at Peace and help the next young person in line. If you are not an alum I hope you will give because Heidi or perhaps a teacher like her gave you wings to fly. Please know that we appreciate any amount or even just a share on your page to help us spread the word.
So many thanks to those who have reached out to Heidi’s beloved family, to me, and to each other to offer words of love and support. I hope you will join me in honoring the life of a dedicated teacher, a loyal daughter, a loving sister, a devoted friend, a beautiful fairy godmother, and a Peace Girl through and through.
And as Heidi would say, we hope you have a Super Bright Shiny Day!
- K
- R
- M
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