Remembering Kari

Today I remember my friend and college roommate, Kari Firestone Heil, on what would’ve been her 32nd birthday. I’ve learned over the years that when someone passes away, no matter the circumstances, the people left typically long to find a way to keep that person's memory alive.

I knew Kari all throughout our ACU years, and we first met when we lived on the same hall of Gardner dorm our freshman year. I think anyone that came into contact with Kari would use so many of the same words to describe her: joyful, friendly, talented, spunky, and bubbly. She had a great sparkly eye and smile combination that was contagious, and she was always bouncing around singing something.

She, Garyn, and I lived together for just about the last 2 ½ years at ACU. I remember when we found our duplex on Turtle Cove and were SO excited to be officially living off-campus. We thought we had arrived. I remember when we all went to Wal-Mart to buy our first grown-up purchase -- a big rug for the living room. We brought it home, rolled it out, and then Amber Lucy (Kari’s dog) peed on it. Hilarious.

I remember all of us racing home in between classes to eat lunch and watch Days of Our Lives. I remember her little blue car that she was scared to drive if we were ever in a big city. I remember driving home with her from a visit to San Antonio when a huge tornado storm passed right over us. We were petrified but just laughed the whole time.

I remember when she would eat some kind of yummy sweet the way she would make a high-pitched “mmmm, mmmm, mmmm” sound. I remember the way she encouraged me to give Wade a chance.

I remember when we moved out of the duplex and into an apartment. The funniest story there was when the bathroom sink broke and about 6 inches of water flooded the entire apartment. We were a bunch of clueless girls and didn’t know what to do but run around screaming and laughing...and pause to take a goofy picture.


And of course, I always remember Kari singing and dancing. For someone who never had official dance training, she was amazingly talented. She loved to perform and was a natural. She was in just about every ACU theatre production and was a Sing Song hostess. You could see on her face how much she loved being on stage.



I wish so bad she had known and felt the love that so many people had for her. I wish so bad that I could go back in time and change things. I hope and pray that somehow good can come from the tragic. I hope and pray that more will be taught on how to handle depression with much more grace extended. I hope and pray that the legacy of the Kari we all knew and loved will live on in her two beautiful daughters.
Happy Birthday Kari!