A mother-of-four who died suddenly last week had been planning a break away for her family following hip replacement surgery last month.
Heather Willis, who was originally from Bleary and living in Killyman, passed away in hospital on Friday evening; a sudden and shocking passing that was described to mourners, by Pastor Andrew Masters, at her funeral on Tuesday afternoon as “a living nightmare”.
“The seventh of February has changed everything,” he said, especially for her husband Keith, and children Noah, Ben, Poppy, and Ruby, and for sisters Sharon, Lindsey, and the whole family.
Big sister Sharon led in the tributes to her “wee sis”, who had not long celebrated her 43rd birthday.
She described how they grew up in Markville, Bleary, and attended Bleary Primary School, where she made lifelong friends.
She was the goalie on the hockey team, just like her daughter Ruby.
Sharon spoke of a time when there was a competition to name the school magazine, which Heather won. The magazine was called Teary Bleary, which “sums our Heather up, being the second child”.
“She got the raw deal, nothing new – everything was a hand-me-down.”
“Heather excelled academically,” said Sharon. “She got the brains and the looks. She was involved in many activities at Lurgan Junior High, and she actually played one of the lead roles in the school production of Bugsy Malone. She was in first year; I was in third year, the big sister, and she used to annoy the life out of me.”
Sharon recalled a time when she was summoned to the office after Heather had fallen down the stairs at Home Economics.
“I had to go to A&E with her. The bone had broken right through the skin, and this is where her love of X-rays began.”
Heather attended the University of Ulster to study a degree in radiography, where she obtained a first-class honours degree.
Heather was a social young woman who made friends wherever she went, but it was in the Belmont that she met her lifelong partner, Keith.
“She did have other boyfriends come to the house,” joked Sharon, “but Keith kept coming, and the love story – and the start of Team Willis – began.”
Keith proposed, and on 20th August 2005, they said ‘I do’ and set up a home in Killyman, Dungannon.
However, Keith was pursuing a dream to own his own chemist and had found this fantastic opportunity on Dunbarton Road in Glasgow.
“I will never forget the tears as they left,” said Sharon.
Heather even started up her “dream wedding shop”, where she was better able to balance life as a mum.
“People travelled from London to buy dresses from her shop,” said Sharon.
Four children later and a growing Willis empire, Heather and Keith, in 2019, “made the difficult decision” to move back to Northern Ireland.
“Keith would commute back and forth to work, and they set up home on Old Church Lane. It was a massive move, but for our family, the best decision they’ve ever made.”
“Heather was a great strength to mum. During her illness, she went to every appointment, except for the first one. She always had the right questions for the consultants, and if she wasn’t happy with the response, she would question them, come home, do a bit of research, and have more questions for them at the next appointment.
“I make it out that our Heather was perfect. Trust me, we all know she was far from it, but she was so special, a real gem in many ways. Her genuine kindness, humbleness, her selflessness, always putting others first, her generosity and inspiration, her memory-making and, actually, her taking photographs of absolutely everything. She was my biggest encourager.
“How she kept all the plates spinning for Team Willis, I will never know, but I promise Heather, Lindsay, and I will do our best and keep these plates spinning.”
Sharon said life in the Willis family over the last year was “starting to fall into place”.
“Life was good for them. Noah had passed his driving test and taken some of the pressure off Heather. The kids were doing well in school. The business was doing great. Keith and Heather could go out and enjoy dinner… enjoy some time as a couple again. Keith said he loved her more than he ever did.
“She was building her dream home as a family together… three weeks ago, she had her hip operation and was doing fantastic, so well that she even talked about booking a holiday or caravan break this week – that’s how well she was feeling.
“Heather invested her time in people who invested their time in her and her family; people who acted with integrity and who loved her and loved them for who they were. She taught me so much, especially over the last two years. This last two years, she was an anchor to Lindsey and I. I’m not sure how we’re going to move on from this situation, but I promise Heather, we will do our best.”
Sharon asked the congregation to think about their last conversation with Heather and if they could have one more conversation with her, what would it be?
“Mine would be,” she said, “I love you, wee sis. I hope you know that. It wasn’t meant to end like this, Heather, you’re the best mum, wife, auntie, sister, and daughter. We love you, and we will miss you forever. Be still.”
Lindsey, Heather’s younger sister, fighting back tears, recited a beautiful, heartfelt poem – ending with the words: “This isn’t a goodbye, but rather, see you soon, my big sis.”
