During Heather’s memorial services on Saturday, January 25, 2020,
The following reflections and eulogy were offered to those attending. Please take the time to enjoy the facets and light of Heather A. Petersen.

Reflection #1 - Carmen Trevino

I met the wonderful Heather Ann Petersen, or HAP as we called her, in New York City in the 1990s.  But we did not become close friends until I moved to London in 2002.  Heather considered London her second home. It wasn’t always thus.  Her first visit to London was with her good friend Lee Anne. They booked a hotel in Leicester Square in the heart of London and didn’t venture further.  Which is like booking a hotel in Times Square, never leaving it and assuming that that is New York City.  Consequently, she didn’t understand the appeal of London.   So, when our mutual friend Shauna suggested Heather accompany her on a visit to me, it took some persuading.  But once she got there, she fell in love with the city — the theater, the museums, the restaurants, the markets, the parks, the castles and historic homes, the people hailing from countries all around the world, and of course the royal family. And thus began 15 years of Heather traveling to London whenever she had the chance. She even moved in with me for a summer.  She was an ardent Anglophile and had such an appetite for absorbing the culture.  We had a running joke of her sending me salutations on various British holidays.  I would always say ‘Heather, no one says Happy Boxing Day! Or Happy Guy Fawkes Day! and certainly not Happy Bank Holiday! “She also loved two London things that I didn’t — the free newspapers on the Tube and mince pies from Pret that are only available at Christmas.  At the end of any London visit, Heather would leave messages on post-it notes all around my flat. Her handwriting was pretty much indecipherable (sometimes even to her!) but I looked forward to coming home from work and finding these notes.  I had a big map of Central London in my kitchen. She would mark her travels with the post-its, taking pride in successfully navigating the Tube and all the winding streets that change names every couple of blocks for no reason.  I also had a cork board in my hallway showcasing my collection of postcards from art museums.  After her visits, I would scan my cork board to find what new postcard Heather had added to my collection.  It was usually pretty easy, as more often than not, it was an image of the royal family.   After a few more trips to London and a long weekend in Prague, our travel lives changed significantly — and through that our entire lives.  Our mutual friend Trevor suggested that he, Heather, Shauna and I go to Japan.  None of us had been and we four had never travelled together.  We quickly discovered that we loved the dynamic among us as we ate food that did not remotely resemble “Japanese food” at home; as we navigated the subway without being able to read any of the signs; as we bowed, and bowed, and bowed some more to store clerks as we prowled the high-end shopping district searching for a specific designer hand bag that was sold out in NY and LA (Heather found it of course!).  We bonded with each other as we obeyed the posted signs on Miyajima Island and dutifully avoided eye contact with the feral monkeys so as not to provoke an attack; we disobeyed the posted signs at our rural hotel that said all guests must wear traditional Japanese dress when eating in the communal dining room (we almost wore the kimonos, but didn’t and were so relieved when we arrived for breakfast and found none of the other guests had either).  We visited the museum at Hiroshima and learned about the effects of the two nuclear bombs and marveled that any nation still has such weapons.  At our final dinner on that trip, enjoying wagyu beef on the top floor of a skyscraper looking out across Tokyo, we started planning our next trip.  Thus, the Tokyo 4 was born. In the last 12 years, we have traveled to five continents together, visiting cities and seeking out their monuments, restaurants, art galleries, and theater; we have trekked to ancient monuments, voyaged across deserts, sweated through rain forests, and driven through breathtaking landscapes.  We have learned how to say ‘hello, please, thank you, and fabulous’ in numerous languages — thus prompting warm interactions with our tour guides and locals.  But more importantly, the four of us have come to know each other well.  We have learned each other’s likes/dislikes/routines and habits.  We know what brings each of us joy and we are enlivened by spending time together.  We have a deep love for each other, and it is heartbreaking that one of us is gone.  But Shauna, Trevor and I have decided we are still the Tokyo 4 and that Heather will still be with us on all our trips.  The number of times in the coming years that we will find ourselves in a far-flung corner of the world and we will stop and say ‘Heather would love this’ is infinite.  Thank you.

Reflection #2 - Shauna Summers

I’m so grateful to have had Heather stay with me in New York over the holidays. On Christmas Eve, a few of my friends came over and as is often the case when a bunch of bleeding heart liberal New Yorkers get together, we started talking politics and sharing our individual voting histories. Heather talked about being a Republican well into her adulthood, even attending the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in 2004, though she admitted that she’d never considered herself very political. Well, in 2008, all that changed. A woman was running for the highest office in the land. And for Heather, the idea, the hope of a woman president was a game changer. Or, to put it another very Heather way, she was IN. Her candidate didn’t win the primary in 2008, but at that point there was no going back for our HAP. She realized that her values and faith fell in a bluer lane. She was a progressive, a liberal. She was a Democrat. And in 2016, Heather was with her.
Even when Heather was a Republican, she was a proud feminist, which she defined as “anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” And her feminism shouldn’t have been a surprise; after all, she came from a long line of strong women whom she adored and revered, especially her aunts, her sister Holly, and of course her beloved mother Barb. Heather sought out and admired complex, capable, fascinating women in all areas of her life from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Beyonce, Hermione Granger to Midge Maisel, Serena Williams to Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She often bragged with great pride about all her smart and accomplished friends. At church, at work, at home, she was a true advocate and mentor. I can’t count how many times Heather would email, text, or call, asking if I’d talk to a young woman she’d met or a colleague’s daughter or a friend’s sister about a career in publishing. She wanted everyone in her sphere to have every opportunity to succeed and was a cheerleader for all.
The Pulitzer-prize winning Mormon historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is famous for having said “Well-behaved women seldom make history,” lamenting that too many women who’ve had a positive impact on the world are overlooked. But this quote is also often read to mean that women must agitate in order to make a difference. Both interpretations can be applied to Heather. She was a remarkable person and we all adored her, but her life likely won’t appear in any history books. And indeed, Heather wasn’t afraid of breaking a few rules or getting into “good trouble” as the great Civil Rights leader John Lewis has encouraged all of us to do for a cause that is righteous and just. In recent years, Heather’s agitation was usually centered around concern for the marginalized and most vulnerable in our communities. Because at the heart of Heather’s feminism and advocacy was a longing for a better world, especially for her nieces and nephews, the humans she loved most. She believed that full equality, autonomy, and representation for all women was essential to seeing that better world realized.
I’m heartbroken that when a woman is finally elected president, I won’t have my dear friend here to celebrate with me. But I know she’ll be rejoicing on the other side and cheering and pushing us all on in the meantime.
In closing, I’d like to share a quote from one of Heather’s heroes: “To all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” This is what Heather wanted for herself and for all of us. May we each do all we can to make that better world a reality.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Reflection #3 - Trevor Packer

Written as a letter to Heather

Dear Heather:

I think many of us feel great sadness at not having been able to express our love for you in your final hours. So, I’m writing my remarks as a letter, despite finding words deeply inadequate in this moment. Years ago, I told you about my brother Spencer, who rocked my family’s world one night by daring to mutter under his breath a single blazing profanity during family home evening. My father grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his bedroom for a lecture, while my youngest sister burst into tears and asked whether Spencer’s cussing would keep him from joining the rest of the family in heaven. Spencer, the bad boy of the Packer family, immediately became your favorite of my eight siblings.
I was surprised by your ability to find the joy and humor in Spencer’s youthful frustrations . . . but I should not have been, because you were always able to see that the same chutzpah the could generate a teenager’s defiance could motivate that same young man to become proficient in Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, and Farsi, work as an undercover CIA operative in Pakistan, and help endangered families there reach asylum in the United States. Albert Einstein claimed that “there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Heather, more than anyone I know, you found the miraculous in life and then revealed it to the rest of us. You were always listening, Heather: whether rocking backstage at a Foo Fighters concert or shedding a tear each time you listened to Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” or playing Jane Eyre or The Holiday or Rachel Maddow on perpetual loop in the background when working around the apartment, you were always listening for miracles in the world. You were always looking: whether slowly circling Michelangelo’s unfinished Pietas in Florence and Milan, or wandering through the forest of columns and the dappled stained glass light of the Gaudi church you loved so much in Barcelona, or negotiating the crowds to enter the Metropolitan Museum’s annual fashion exhibit, or simply having your niece photoshop images of Keanu Reeves, Bradley Cooper, and (inexplicably) Ben Whishaw into a collage of what you called “male hotness,” you were always looking for and finding the miracles of beauty in the world around you.
You relished crisp Egyptian cotton sheets against your skin, the instant relief of an air-conditioned room, the rush of jumping from a boat into the cool waters of the Mediterranean, and gallons of suds in a warm bathtub on a cold night. And no one I know dedicated a larger portion of their monthly budget to scented candles. I have never known anyone to take more pleasure in the textures and fibers of the physical world. And don’t get me started on what it was like to dine with you, the only person I know who could eat red meat, rare, three meals a day, salting every dish liberally, without the slightest trace of problematic cholesterol or sodium levels. You introduced me to the best beef short rib I’ve ever tasted, an unforgettable tomato salad, and you knew just where to find the perfect Parker roll in every city.
But even more remarkable than your ability to curate great food, art, and culture was your capacity to see the miraculous in mere mortals like ourselves. Somehow when you looked at us, you made us each feel like a celebrity, when most of us are utterly ordinary and almost always a bit awkward; you listened to us as if we were poets, when most of us ramble and repeat ourselves. May we carry forward some fraction of your utter generosity and vitality until we meet again.
Less than two months ago, you and I went outside the city walls of Jerusalem to an ancient tomb in a garden near the site where Jesus was crucified. It was dusk, and while we could hear acapella hymns from various groups in the garden, we were alone at the tomb. I sat on a stone bench and watched you approach the entrance, bowing your head to enter the low doorway into the burial place. We then sat in the garden and were mostly quiet. I don’t know what you were thinking, but it was peaceful. I don’t believe you had the slightest sense that in just 45 more days you’d cross death’s threshold yourself; I certainly did not. And I don’t like to think about how brief the remaining time was. Instead, I like to remember you standing there beautiful in the Jerusalem twilight, gazing at the entrance to the tomb as other Christian women did nearly 2,000 years ago:

Very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher, and two angels standing by it in shining garments. And they entered into the sepulcher, and not finding the body of the Lord Jesus, they were much perplexed thereabout;
And were affrighted, and bowed down their faces to the earth. But behold the angels said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. (Luke 24)

In our secular era, many are inclined to see this narrative as a fable embraced by the religious, a psychological crutch to mitigate the universal grief we experience at a loved one’s death. And frankly, I also lack the ability to summon faith in things unseen. While I’m grateful for and awed by those in our society and communities who are able simply to feel the spirit of God and then believe, for me, more evidence is essential.
And like you, Heather, I find unshakable evidence for the Bible’s account of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection in a text published in a small upstate New York village in 1830. That book makes an eye-opening claim – that Jesus Christ was indeed resurrected and that all humanity, regardless of creed or affiliation, will retain their unique identities and continue forever the processes of learning and loving and growing that began in mortality. It seems like it should be child’s play for educated readers to expose this “Book of Mormon” as a fraud. But many like you and I who have looked at it with care have been unable to do so. It is linguistically, culturally, and philosophically an impossibility in 19th century English, a miracle that anyone can examine and test for themselves to answer the question of whether the book, as it claims to be, is a revelation from God to the modern world. I cannot explain it away, and am overwhelmed by the evidence it provides of a loving deity, the divine potential of all of humanity, the essentiality of pursuing social justice, and the ultimate need for a Savior to heal the hurts and injustices that we cannot rectify ourselves.
So, I accept and believe the teachings of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, including their insistence that the relationships we develop in mortality are eternal. Heather, we grieve and mourn and love and will miss you profoundly, while rejoicing in the resurrection made possible through Christ. You once identified a specific verse in the Book of Mormon as a “drop the microphone” moment, a teaching so forceful, right, and good that no debate is possible, we must simply go and do likewise:

Ye will administer of your substance unto him or her that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition unto you in vain. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore, I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just;
But I say unto you, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he or she repenteth, . . . hath no interest in the kingdom of God. (Mosiah 4: 16-18)

Heather, as a gifted writer and nonpareil storyteller, you relished stories and narratives as vehicles for changing minds and hearts, and if we could spend several hours here reading the stories you most loved, we would perhaps have a truer window into your soul than any of my words can open. So, I will close with just one narrative you loved – the only time I ever heard you describe a story as one that required the teller to “drop the mike.”

A number of years ago, my wife and I lived in a small farming community in southern Arizona. One day in Sunday School, we were discussing the Book of Mormon’s teachings on sharing our substance with the less fortunate. One young man in our Sunday School class that day raised his hand. He felt some concerns about a personal application of this scripture.
The ready availability of farming work in the community enticed significant numbers of Mexicans to cross the border illegally. They walked through the desert for about thirty miles to look for work in our area. By the time they reached the freeway south of town, they were always hungry and thirsty. Many of them stopped at the first house they found to beg for a bite to eat.
The young man had recently married, and he and his wife lived in one of only two houses south of the main highway. He described the problem and said, “I don’t dare feed any of them. If you feed one, he’ll mark your house in some way and then you’ll be expected to feed them all. They shouldn’t be here anyway.”
Another class member raised her hand after a moment or two. She and her husband lived in the other house south of the interstate. She seemed reluctant to say what she wanted to say but felt impelled to do so. “I don’t want to hurt any feelings,” she said, “and I do not mean to sound judgmental. But I must say something about this. No one leaves our house hungry. No one. And if my husband and I are not at home, our children know. We feed anyone who asks for food.

I’ll do as you asked, Heather, and drop the mike right here, leaving us with your plea that we go and do likewise.

I love you,
Trevor

Reflection #4 - Julia Ashworth

I’m so honored to speak today on behalf of Heather’s friends and family. I hope I can do her justice, for as you all know, she was a force of nature. I can’t count the times she showed up in my life to support and sustain me. And very little can compare to Heather Petersen arriving on your doorstep saying, “Here I am, you are loved.” On May 19, 2018, I sent live updates to Heather and Kristen from Windsor, England about the royal wedding. On May 19, 2019, Heather showed up at my house in Provo, Utah, saying, “Here I am, you are loved. Now, let’s celebrate the first anniversary of the royal wedding, and the series finale of Game of Thrones.” In many ways, both Heather and I would like to present ourselves as sophisticates who loved high culture, the performing and fine arts (which we do) but nothing gets us going like British TV and the royal family. There are far too many British TV shows we love to enumerate here, so I’ll just read a few titles. 10 should be good.

1. Downton Abbey
2. Call the Midwife
3. Happy Valley
4. The Durrells in Corfu
5. Grantchester
6. The Hour
7. Home Fires
8. Wallander
9. Dr. Foster
10. Endeavour

Heather was my British TV mentor. Case in point, last summer, when Heather found out that I simply never watched the second season of Happy Valley....after she collected herself, she set about to remedy this, and we soon watched it all within 24 hours. The reason to watch this show, especially season 2 is for the strong central female character, Detective Catherine Cawood. Detective Cawood never gave up on the people she loved, even though it was often difficult, and Heather really admired her. Here’s a sample of her dialogue:

Catherine Cawood: [trying to talk Liam out of setting himself on fire] I’m Catherine, by the way. I’m forty-seven. I’m divorced. I live with my sister, who’s a recovering heroin addict. I’ve two grown-up children - one dead, one who don’t speak to me - and a grandson. So...
Liam Hughes: “Why? Why don’t he speak to you?
Catherine Cawood: It’s complicated. Let’s talk about you.

Catherine Cawood was such a good person, we felt inspired by her. In fact, she reminded me of another strong female character who inspired us, detective Karen Duvall from Netflix’s “Unbelievable”. This character has a scripture on the dashboard of her car, reminding her why she signed up for such difficult work. The scripture is from Isaiah 6:8 and reads, “Here I am. Send me.” Heather believed, “Everyone needs a Karen Duvall in their life.” Someone to say, “Here I am. Send me.” I’ve thought a lot about this verse of scripture recently and feel a shift in my vision of this earthly life. In this hard world we live in, where a lot of bad things happen, how can we help others imagine good things happening? When do we have the opportunity to say, Here I am. Send me? Or, like Heather, here I am, you are loved? One of the most significant times Heather showed up for me was 10 years ago. I was in the midst of delivering the eulogy at my mother’s funeral. I looked up, I suddenly saw Heather sitting on the back row, smiling at me. I knew she had shown up for me again. I knew I was loved. I feel grateful to have the chance to show up for her today. In the end, in this place of worship, I must say that one of the things I truly cherished most about her was her unyielding, never ending faith in God, Jesus Christ and eternal life. Her faith was breathtaking. It is because of that faith, that I know that on May 19 of this year, when I’m on a work trip in Japan that she was supposed to join me on, I do not doubt that she will show up for me once again. And I will hear her say “here I am, you are loved.”
Amen

Reflection #5 - Lee Anne Pope

The morning I was taking my oldest daughter to college … Heather sent me this text: “Hold it together sister. Channel that inner Jackie O’ (living under a rock) I know you’ve got and be strong for your baby girl, and then come home and sob”— I am super grateful for these words at this moment.
Heather and I met in 1994 in our Coms Law 101 class at BYU. We kind of always sat a sat within a few seats of each other and chatted, then one day she came in late and I had saved her a seat and in her words she thought. “huh, I guess we’re friends.” Little did I know this would lead to 26 years of one of the most special and cherished friendships of my life.
We interned in New York the summer of 1995, where our mutual love affair with that great city began. We graduated together and Heather had planned every detail of her graduation festivities EXCEPT setting her alarm. I called her from a pay phone, when answering she yelled “I overslept” … she came running into graduation just in time…and of course looking fabulous.
She headed out to start her new Job at the Late Show with David Letterman and a short month later, a call from Heather changed the course of my life. I was at ESPN, when Heather invited me to come interview at The Late Show. Which led to us joining our Late Show family (where we were Heather and Lee Anne, Lee Anne and Heather, or Mormon #1 Mormon #2 depending on who Dave liked better that day) we were co-workers and roommates and embarking on an adventure that would be a part of our story forever.
Heather made life beautiful, she created beauty wherever she was, and made it look effortless. She made life GRAND and FABULOUS for everyone is her sphere of influence When Christmas rolled around. Heather was horrified that we did not have a Late Show Christmas tree, and she changed that. Not only did we have themed Christmas tree every year, we then needed a proper Christmas soiree with eggnog and sparkling cider and music to kick off the holiday.
Heather loved everything about television and the television industry. She was AGAIN, horrified when she learned that because Mark and I would be moving to Turkey for 9 months, we would miss the entire fall lineup. Before internet and Netflix and Hulu and Streaming. There was Heather. Every 2 weeks we received a bow box packed with a dozen VHS tapes that she had recorded all the prime time shows. she could not bear the thought that her friend didn’t have access to great television. And she didn’t do it because she really loved television…she did it Because she loved me…and everyone that was lucky enough to be loved by heather was really blessed.
Heather was wickedly smart and really, really good at what she did, and she had to be good at A LOT of different things. You don’t work for Dave for 20 years unless you are GREAT. Heather’s life in NY and at The Late show, was hectic and fast paced and hard and at times glamorous attending the Emmy’s, and movie screenings and helping create and build all of Dave’s philanthropic endeavors……. BUT her heart was always here with her family.
I can’t even count how many times we called Holly with what must have seemed like ridiculous questions to her…. asking about taxes, travel, budgets, getting us out of a jam. And no matter how busy she was, she ALWAYS picked up the phone and she always solved our problems.
Of the many phone calls, I received when I lost my Dad. I will always remember when Eyston called and said “I know you lost your dad, but you’ve still got me. Love ya Kid.”
Never was Heather more childlike than when (her brother) Erik came to visit… instantly I was the outsider as they went to movies, planned restaurants, and spoke in what seemed like their own private language.
Heather LOVED her nieces and nephews. She would call them most mornings just to check in and see what they were having for breakfast! She kept a cheesy grinned picture of Ashleigh on her bulletin board and whenever the stress level got too high at work she would literally hold it up in front of my face…it always reminded her of what was important and what was real.
And of all her friends and as important as we were all to her. She was her Mother’s daughter. She quoted Barb more than anyone on the planet. As long as I live, I’ll never forget the picture of Heather and I standing outside the studio waiting to welcome Barb who was coming to visit. And seeing her limo turn the corner at 53rd street, with Barb standing up through the sun roof, holding her own music box, blaring Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York and singing along…… It was so Barb and at the same time so Heather.
She has been a part of every big decision, every scary, happy or sad moment, from the births of my girls to helping me plan the perfect outfit for a special event, she prepared me to go to the temple, (I have a picture of her fixing my veil before I exited the temple on my wedding day) she is a part of who I am, part of my DNA. She is one of my greatest gifts from my father in heaven. I’ve made some good decisions in my life but without a doubt one of the best was saving that seat in 1995.

Barbara and Eyston, thank you for giving us Heather.

Reflection #6 - Colleen Schukei

I’m Colleen- I remember so vividly meeting Heather for the 1st time. The year was 1999- I was living in Nebraska- and had been dating a wonderful- witty- and promising young man named /Chris Schukei - who worked for David Letterman. Heather and I had chatted a few times in the phone.  Probably it was her grabbing the receiver from Chris to say hello. So here I am, my first visit to New York - standing in the VIP line for a taping of the late show - and around the corner walked Heather - I’d never seen her before- she’d never seen me- and it’s like we both knew.  We threw our arms open and hugged. By the way - when Chris told Heather he was going to propose - Heather had one word of advice - Tiffany’s.
Heather and I just got each other.  We found each other endlessly entertaining - and we saw so much of the world through the same lens.  We just saw things the same way.  Always on the same page.  Especially when it came to interior design.
We watched SGG (“Something’s Gotta Give) frame by frame to find the exact chairs Diane Keaton had around her dining room table.
*Heather and I loved every second of analyzing - 11 farrow and ball sample pots of white to pick out the perfect shade.
*Every second we spent recasting Jack Black in The Holiday - and every moment we spent working together as screenwriters.

It all started when — Let me set the scene — we were poolside at the Green Valley Ranch hotel in a little cabana, diet cokes with extra ice, Heather in Tom Ford sunglasses and her hair effortlessly piled on her head in a beautiful flowing caftan - Holly- don’t even think about calling it a Muumuu
 I was telling her about this notable Nebraskan- Henry Beachell - that I had just profiled for the nightly news and I mentioned “I can’t believe no one had made a movie about him”
And Heather said - just like this — “because we haven’t written one yet.” 

And there - from that cabana poolside - the idea was born.  Before we had written one word on the page - we knew the exact kind of story we wanted to write- the scale- the beautify - the quiet hero who saved millions from starvation.
As we wrote together - the same movie played in both our minds.  The ideas flowed as fast as we could write them down.
We initially had no villain! Every story needs a villain! But who is against someone trying to stop a famine?
So, Heather went to Texas to do research - and I know how this sounds - but Heather ended up uncovering a government conspiracy to breed rice as a weapon of war during the Vietnam war.
She was able to get someone on the record talking about the experimental “anti-crop warfare” plots in Beaumont, Texas - and we confirmed it through a freedom of information act request.
We always believed in Henry Beachall’s story and in ourselves and – Heather - I’m not giving up on this dream of ours.
Those of us in this room our forever bonded. We knew her. We loved her. We honor that wonderful amazing person by remembering her. By telling stories. By laughing. By checking in with those who will miss her. Because this is going to hurt for a while.
We must radiate love and warmth and letting the beautiful light that was Heather continue to shine.

Niece’s & Nephew’s Reflections

Aunt HeHe

These last two weeks have been filled with tear stained cheeks while reminiscing on all the many memories shared with you, and knowing that your beautiful spirit is now with the Lord. HeHe was a daughter, sister, aunt, great aunt, cousin, niece, missionary, and friend. She was loved, by oh so many. She helped others and shared her light with everyone around her. HeHe traveled the world. When she traveled with grandma they sought out hidden treasures of our family history. When she traveled with her closest friends, they would immerse themselves in the culture around them. But in our opinion, the best place she ever went was always back home to Vegas. Family was everything to HeHe, and HeHe was everything to our family. From making sure she didn’t miss sending a birthday card to splashing some color on our cheeks, and yes, even on us boys, she always made sure we felt seen and loved. Her spooky stories by candle light and latest pop culture knowledge could never be beat, and we always looked forward to her next “rambler” while she was away. HeHe was always one of our greatest cheerleaders. She had a strong desire for each of us to succeed and grow, and would use any connections she had to help us.

To Owen, Leigha, and Eyston, fresh PJ’s after a nice warm bath, and singing along to music in the car after a sleepover with HeHe, will be some of their most cherished memories. While she would have never claimed to be a chef, she had some of the best go to recipes. From her chicken croissants for kids nights, to her delicious poppy seed salad at family dinners where Nat King Cole was almost always playing in the background, will always be some of our top HeHe dishes.

Aunt HeHe radiated with light in her countenance. She had a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and both her words and actions showed this. She knew the Plan of Happiness and is now continuing on her path towards eternal life. HeHe was Loving, Spiritual, Driven, Strong, Inspiring, Supportive, Charitable, Fun, Beautiful, Joyful, Loving, Wonderful, Adventurous, and of course, Fashionable. The following quote by Abraham Lincoln sums up our HeHe: “And in the end, it’s not the years in a life, it’s the life in the years.” HeHe, you will be dearly missed and never forgotten. We love you. -xoxo

Eulogy - Craig Foster

Writing Heather’s eulogy, like all of life’s challenges, has not been an easy task. You have heard from several of those closest to Heather about her facets, and like the facets of a lovely gem, Heather dazzled no matter what chaos life’s challenges threw at her. With her passing, this world hasn’t lost a diamond in the rough. No, it has lost a diamond. One that was polished, sophisticated, lovely, fascinating, gleaming… and of course FABULOUS! The list goes on and on. Heather was not like Aladdin trying to become something she was not. She was like the Djinni with that special magic that lights up rooms, that special magic that changes lives.

As I have worked with so many wonderful folks these last two weeks through the intricacies of Heather’s memorial services, two songs have continued to play through my mind. The first I alluded to in my comments on the Dignity Memorial page of Sir Elton John’s, “Candle in the Wind”. It is no secret that Heather is a Royals Watcher. She even drug mom off to Scotland on a family heritage tour in 2011, partly so they would be in England for William and Kate’s Royal Wedding – showing off two of the facets of Heather that are just amazing. Her love of family and her zest to discover the finer things of this world that God created. The other song was more problematic and has kept me from sleeping well. It comes from The Sound of Music, and I can here all the nuns singing in my mind, “How do You Solve a Problem Like [Heather]”. I am grateful, so very grateful for the HAP7 (that’s the Heather Ann Petersen 7) and their support during these weeks. Also, for them taking the time to share some of Heather’s facets to show us a bit of the moonbeam that I am trying to hold in my hand. As I present Heather, please pray in your hearts that both her spirit and the Spirit of God will attend us today. And more importantly that The Holy Ghost will testify of the eternal principles that Heather so loves and cherishes.

This is a sad day of parting, but it is not a tragic day of Heather’s death. Rather we are celebrating her mortal life. I testify that Aunt Hehe still lives. She has slipped through the veil Father placed between life and death into a celebration. A Celebration with those in the Spirit Realm that are rejoicing that she is with them now. They, like us, cherish and love her. The Paradise that she is in now, like all of God’s creations, is perfectly created for such a wonderful, loving, and beautiful spirit as Heather Ann Petersen.

Two months ago, a picture was taken at our home of Aunt Hehe and Devin. It ended up getting posted on our family text thread to which she responded, “I am blowing this photo up! I have never, ever, NEVER looked so small. Thanks D.” Though apparently small in the photo, Heather Ann Petersen was anything but small in our lives. As you can tell from what has already been shared today, Heather impacts our lives deeply. She is, in so many ways larger than the average life through her travels, her style, her passions, and her love of others. Her ability to focus on the one, the one she was talking with at that given moment, was such a special quality that brought out the very best of what others meant to Heather. Often with them not even recognizing their own full worth until Heather shined her light on them with that special focus.

In thinking about Heather, a few things come to mind immediately. Her style is impeccably, legendarily always on – this is attested to by the Tokyo 4, her travel companions, whom she climbed to Machu Pichu with while wearing a pair of Frye boots (it’s okay for those that don’t know what this means, I had to have it explained to me too). She was thoughtfully progressive – I know this from, and will greatly miss, our simple banter about Hillary and Trump (alright, it wasn’t always simple banter, but it was refreshing to hear her often well thought views and insights). She was successful – I never knew Heather to not be striving toward and attaining her next goal – she is infamous for her storyboards where she plans out in detail her next screenplay, trip, or big event (she and Colleen, her writing partner, even picked specific, big-time actors like Tom Hanks and Jude Law to star in their movies). Above all her personal success and dreams however, were two overarching principles that carry Heather along as a light to the world. A light that, like Princess Diana, burned out far too soon. Though Paradise is brighter for having Heather now, we are dimmed as she pursues her next goal, the birth that we call death.

From my view, the two principles that Heather believes most passionately are that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that families are forever. Heather believes in the Plan of Salvation, the Great Plan of Happiness that our Heavenly Father instituted before He created this world. Science would have us believe that being human is an advanced form of animal life. Heather knew differently. She understood that people are the children of God, placed here, just outside of a view of heaven, to enable us all to grow, to fulfill our potential. Heather knows that this life was a time to be tested, tried, and put under pressures to see how we will use our agency, or our freedom to choose right from wrong. Heather worked and studied to gain a deep and abiding testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She knows how to serve God by serving others, and ultimately, she came to know that family is the central core of her world. Through family, Heather defined herself and she found the greatest joy of her life. We can see this from her example of being a great Aunt Hehe. As each of our children, then our grandchildren, came to earth from God’s presence in the Pre-Existence, Heather never balks at loving those little souls as her own. She constantly strives to make their lives better and fuller. From the way she tells scary or bed-time stories for them, to the carrot-cake lotion she would slather on them (even when bears might be around), her doting care for them in every interaction is just beyond compare.

From her central core of God and family, Heather grows and cultivates friendships that abide forever. She wants us to be here, meeting and enjoying one another’s company, in celebration of her, her joy, and her faith in knowing that she will see us again. Heather’s belief, shared with all members of our faith, is that every person came to earth from courts of glory and from the very presence of God. That through our faith in Christ, through obedience to God’s will and by gaining virtues, and especially through our covenants with God as Heather has covenanted, we are all destined to glory in the heavens. These last few years I have seen Heather work hard at deepening her understanding of the ordinances and covenants that bind us to God. Since our daughter Haleigh’s marriage, the two of them have fallen in love with genealogy and finding our ancestors. There are many instances where Heather would reach out through our family text thread asking Haleigh for records of our ancestors. This would draw Heather and through her example our family more often to the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ. Temples are different from chapels. Where we are today is a chapel, a place of worship, a place where the Lord’s Supper is presented every Sunday to members and visitors alike. The temples, like the one on the east side of Las Vegas, or the iconic six-spire one in Salt Lake City, are indeed The House of the Lord on earth. Heather knows that the ordinances of baptism, confirmation of the Holy Ghost, bestowal of the priesthood, the endowment, and being sealed to her family for time and all eternity, matter. These ordinances, or covenants that we make with our Heavenly Father, are the treasures that are stored up in heaven. Just as new born spirits progress from being with God to the earth for a purpose, when Heather stepped through the veil into Paradise she progressed back toward God’s presence and a new purpose. We believe that while in Paradise, Heather is once again a missionary. She is teaching Jesus Christ, just as she did on her mission to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, to the spirits of those that like Heather, are on the other side of the veil but didn’t have the opportunity on this side of the veil to hear Christ’s message. This is the Plan of Salvation, this is the progression and path set out by God for us all to follow that matters in Heather’s life. The covenants she made while on this side extend into the eternities, thus making our family, the family she loves – all of us since there is only ONE family tree – forever. For Heather, like most members of the Church of Jesus Christ, there is no separation between our belief in Christ, that He suffered in Gethsemane and died on the cross on Golgotha, that through Him and His example we have a path back to our Father, that He lives today and once again directs His Church through a living prophet and apostles, that the power to act in His name is once again on the earth through a restoration of eternal truths, most of us cannot separate these beliefs and family. I testify that because Christ suffered death yet lives today, that Heather is not gone. She is now waiting in the next room for us to join her. I know that she will be one of many ready to celebrate with us when we progress to that state of Father’s Plan. There, like Heather is now, we will await the glorious and profound day of our Savior’s return. The day of Resurrection when our spirits and our bodies will be united once again as His already has.

My final point comes directly from Heather herself when she gave a talk about 2 years ago in the Manhattan chapel. She stated, “I was in the first singles ward in Manhattan, and it was glorious, it was great, it was home. And I would say that our unofficial theme song was “The Spirit of God,” and we sang it often. So, nothing fills my heart with joy more than sitting next to people who sing, who sing with gusto, who sing with the Spirit. And to be in a [chapel], where people have come to pursue their dreams, and to hear that song sung and played by a skilled professional on the organ: IT WAS POWERFUL. It has been 21 years since those days, and it is still impactful in my life, because it made me feel so invincible; “I can do anything. God knows me. I know God. He has a plan for me. I can do this.” Sisters and brothers, like Heather, I know that God has a plan for each of us that is so significantly better than the plan we make for ourselves. Let’s be like Heather. Let’s seek out God’s plan for us, let’s seek to find a small portion of that wonderful light that Heather found, her candle that though it burned out too soon, it burns bright, and it burns with the glory of God. That light within Heather Ann Petersen that makes her a light to our world. I pray that we all share her light and join our light with hers in making this world a better place, a place that honors the facets of Heather Ann Petersen.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.