Heather Leigh Passmore - loving mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend to many - passed away on November 15, 2007.
Heather Leigh Passmore was born in Richmond Hill, ON, on 05 January 1968. She attended Baythorn Public School and Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill, ON. Even as a young child, Heather was a very responsible and caring person, always wanting to make sure things were okay with her friends or her younger brother, Scott.
After high school, Heather entered the Honours Biology program at McMaster University in Hamilton in 1987. Here she met some lifelong friends, and her identity as “HP” was firmly established. After graduating with her Bachelor's degree, she continued her education at the University of Guelph, studying the reproductive ecology of snapping turtles at different locations in North America. Again, Heather quickly found her place, and made many close friends. She greatly enjoyed her time in Guelph - perhaps that’s why it took a little extra time to complete her studies - and graduated from the Master of Science program in January 1996.
Heather's personal skills and passion for biological conservation and environmental education led to several different jobs in that field, at sites as far apart as Pelee Island, the Highlands Nature Centre in North Carolina, the Toronto Zoo, and the Northwest Territories chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
Also during her time at Guelph, Heather met Douglas Tate, another Biology graduate student. Little did either of them know where that first meeting would eventually lead. Heather and Doug’s friendship moved into dating a few years later, they both moved to the Northwest Territories in 1999, and they were married in Bala, Ontario on 22 September 2001.
On 01 November 2003, Heather gave birth to identical twin boys, Patrick and Lucas. She liked to tell the story of having both natural and Caesarian birth experiences in one pregnancy. The boys were truly the light of her life, and she was a model mother. Through all the new-parent difficulties of sleep deprivation, breast-feeding, and child sicknesses she always showed remarkable intuition, determination and unconditional love. She often gave thanks for having delivered twins, because she was diagnosed with her leukemia within a year or two afterwards, and future pregnancy may not have been advised or even possible.
In June 2007, Heather and family moved temporarily to Calgary, Alberta, to undergo cancer treatment, and she received a blood stem cell transplant on 12 July. Although early progress was good, Heather suffered severe complications from graft vs. host disease, and was readmitted to hospital in September. Heather died from liver failure just before noon, 15 November 2007. She was with her husband and mother when she passed away, she knew what was happening and was prepared to go; she was at peace.
It is a testament to Heather’s independence, her determination, and her love of friends and family that she seldom complained about what must have been an incredible weight to carry, both physically and emotionally. Many of her friends had no idea of the extent of her medical battles with both multiple sclerosis and leukemia, because Heather was never one to look for sympathy. We can all learn a lot from her example.
Heather is survived by her husband Douglas Tate, her sons Patrick and Lucas Tate, her parents Dinny (Butlin) and Neil Nimmo, brother Scott Passmore and stepsisters Diana (passed away December 2005) and Belinda Nimmo, as well as her father’s family, John Passmore, Linda Crawford, Shane and Todd Passmore-Crawford, and her grandfather, Jack (Bompy) Passmore.