Heather Lyn Hoiland

Heather Lyn Hoiland of Spokane, Wash., died May 21, 2010, at her mother’s home in Spokane attended by her mother, her father and her aunt Doris Stoltz.

She was diagnosed with a rare , quick growing metastatic cancer in January and lost the battle after a painful, valiant effort on her part.

Heather Lyn was born in Spokane on Jan. 30, 1977, and fought as hard to be born then after a four-day labor as her fight for life in the end.

Heather was the only child of Colleen C. Lartz of Spokane Valley, Wash., and George A. Hoiland of Libby, Mont. She also has a half brother Donald J. Hoiland.

Her parents divorced when Heather was 3 years old and she remained with her mother until her early adulthood. She spent her early years attending schools in the Idaho cities of Kellogg, St. Maries, and Lewiston. She graduated from Priest River Lamanna High, with later tutoring by her mother’s high school science teacher, the late George Mund in 1995.

Heather was a certified nursing assitant and always loved older people, babies and animals. She worked at LaCrosse Health and Rehabilita-tion on the Alzheimer wing, and in the recreational therapy department in Gainsville, FL and also in recreational therapy at the Gardens in Spokane. She was kind and pleasant to all older people and many times could be seen shopping for those that could not get out or taking home sweaters and raiding the button jar to replace buttons that had fallen off.

Upon returning to the Pacific Northwest she attended SCC and had just graduated in 2008 with her AA degree. While at SCC Heather took a creative arts class and wrote many writings in the published 20th edition of Legends, SCC’s annual creative arts submissions. She then attended one semester at EWSU and had then decided to pursue a career in nursing when the economy had caused her to lay out and gain employment. She worked at Mailstream and Taco Bell.

Heather loved to camp and spent many weekends at Priest Lake. Summer Holidays were spent on the Pend Oreille River at her grandparents river property. She loved the visits to the  Oregon Coast with her mother and 3rd grade teacher, Marilyn Gilbert London, of Little Rock. Her favorite place was Newport, OR. and the docks there. She would watch the commercial fishermen for hours in the bay. Thus one of her favorite TV shows was of the fishing in Alaska. She loved to travel. Her grandparents, the late Fred K. Lartz and Betty and her mother, Colleen took her on many trips to Yellowstone, South Dakota, Canada and the Badlands.

She loved planting flowers and taking care of small children and helping and adopting pets plus reading.

Heather spent her last Saturday fishing with her father and an adopted father, “Mark”. She spent all day at Liberty Lake. Sunday she went out and shopped and bought gifts for everyone and left notes on them, bought flowers for us to plant. Monday she could not walk and her condition worsened. She then was in bed until she died.

Those preceding her in death were her grandfathers Arthur Hoiland and Frederick K. Lartz both of Priest River, ID. Betty Lartz is still residing on Jackson Ave and Frances Hoiland is now in Newport, Wash.

Heather has many friends and relatives. She leaves behind her mother Colleen Lartz of Spokane Valley, WA, her father George A Hoiland of Libby , her cat Maximus, “Rootie”, and her significant other Cody Hicks residing in the Sunset Hill area of Spokane.

A graveside memorial service  will be held on Thursday, May 27, at 1 p.m. at the Evergreen Cemetery 1250 Cemetery Road in Priest River, officiated by pastor Betty Krafft of St. Peter Lutheran Church of which Heather was a member. Following the graveside memorial service there will be a reception held at the local VFW Hall in Priest River.

The family would like to thank the nurses at Deaconess Hospital who cared for Heather and a special “thanks” to Kelly Jenkins, R.N., and Hospice.

Memorials may be made in her name to St. Peter Lutheran, 4620 Regal St., Spokane, WA 99207.

Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home and Crematory in Priest River are  in charge of the arrangements. Family and friends are invited to sign the online guest book at sherman-knapp.com.