Heidi Weaver

Heidi Weaver, age 50, beloved mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, died Sunday, June 27, 2021, in a kayaking accident on the Snake River near her home in Rigby, Idaho.

Heidi was born on a beautiful Fall evening, October 24, 1970, in Ogden, Utah, to Ronald Jay and Lynne Rigby Weaver. She came into the world just two days before her mother, Lynne’s, 29th birthday, and joined an older sister and brother. Three rambunctious younger brothers came a few years later.

Born with a full head of shiny, dark hair and wide brown eyes, Heidi was curious, thoughtful, and intelligent from the start. When she was only nine months old, the young family moved to a beautiful farm near Bancroft, Idaho, where she grew up. Heidi’s dad built a dairy farm that consumed the entire family’s time and energy and taught them all about hard work. Heidi was the consummate calf whisperer, feeding the bottle calves and singing while she washed down the dairy barn after milkings. She loved animals of every kind and always had a “pet” she was nursing back to health.

Heidi had a keen intellect and thoughtful, quiet nature, but was the only Weaver kid to ever get suspended for a day from grade school—for roller skating. She excelled at academics and graduated from North Gem High School in 1989 as the valedictorian of her class. She started a life of travel and spent her high school junior year as a study-abroad student in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. She was also an au pair one summer for her Aunt Christine Rigby and Uncle Carl Arrington in Larchmont, New York, taking care of their new baby, Olivia, who learned to walk with Heidi’s help.

She won the Voice of Democracy contest at North Gem, writing and delivering a powerful and fiery speech. She then competed and won the Caribou County and Idaho State competitions, which earned her a scholarship and trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

Academics were always important to Heidi. She attended Utah State University with an academic scholarship, studying sociology and natural resources. She transferred to the University of Oregon for her junior year, living in a communal living dorm — and scandalizing her parents by living in a co-ed house. It was while she was an Oregon Duck that she honed her “granola” reputation and started owning the title of “hippie.” She was firmly dedicated to sustainability and earth-friendly practices and studied regeneration and hydrology.

She returned to Logan for her senior year, gaining her bachelor’s degree in sociology and natural resources and was named the Utah State University Sociology Student of the Year, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Heidi was fit, strong, and adventurous, wearing Teva sandals, growing her hair long, and refusing to shave her legs. While at Utah State, Heidi earned her wildland firefighter certification and was hired by the U.S. Forest Service Helitack Team. She was a wildland firefighter every summer for several years, repelling from helicopters to fight intense and dangerous forest fires throughout the West.

When she wasn’t fighting fires, Heidi’s nurturing and kind nature made her a wonderful massage therapist. She graduated from the Utah College of Massage Therapy and then specialized in hot stone therapy and deep tissue massage.

Heidi was relatable and supportive, especially of young people struggling with personal challenges. She began working at a home for pregnant teenage girls in Boise, Idaho, counseling them and helping them through very troubling times in their lives.

It was while Heidi was working in Boise that she met her partner, love, and best friend, Bret Weber. Their first date was to their happy place – the deep woods with rustic, natural hot springs in the middle of nowhere. Bret was drawn to Heidi’s kindness, gentleness, and empathy and it didn’t take long for the couple to fall in love. They were living in different towns — Bret in Arco and Heidi in Boise — but they would travel to visit each other every weekend to explore the forests and have other outdoor experiences. Heidi loved that Bret got her out into nature again, a place she felt most at home.

Heidi moved to Arco, Idaho, to be with Bret and started the intense and challenging work of being a counselor at a wilderness program for troubled teenagers. She worked with these kids day and night until just two weeks before giving birth to her baby girl.

Heidi was at her strongest when going through labor for 23 hours without a drop of pain medicine. On March 9, 2009, Heidi and Bret’s little love-of-their-life, Madelyn Daisy Weber was born in Meridian, Idaho. Heidi was 39 when Madelyn made her a mother, and she was overjoyed to have this beautiful, blue-eyed, flaxen-haired baby. Just two days after giving birth to Madelyn, she interviewed before a board of academics to gain entrance to Idaho State University’s Master’s of Counseling program.

Heidi and Madelyn were inseparable, and she brought Madelyn with her everywhere she went. She was a loving and involved mother, changing her focus from adventure and academic achievement, to caring for her wildly independent and creative daughter.

Heidi was an Artist with a capital A. There wasn’t a craft, needle skill, paint, or bead technique that Heidi didn’t master. She grew her own gourds then carved and burned intricate designs. She became a master bead artist patiently forming remarkable works of art with thousands of tiny beads. Heidi pressed flowers, made macrame, and painted detailed rock paintings. She also made exquisite, fired glass and silver jewelry. She produced stunning mixed-media art, rustic pottery, and glass creations. Not a Christmas, birthday, or other special event went by without a gift of art from our crafty girl. We all have her pieces hanging on our walls, around our necks and wrists, and on our Christmas trees. She leaves a broad and prolific body of artistic work and has passed her love of arts and crafts on to her talented and imaginative daughter.

Heidi began working on her master’s degree in school counseling at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She completed her degree at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, and graduated in 2011, beginning her career as a school counselor for junior high and high school students.

Heidi cared about the earth and had a deep interest and near obsession with efficient and well-designed tiny homes. She dreamed of building her own tiny home, carefully planning every detail and curating extensive Pinterest boards full of ideas. She was a master de-clutterer and minimalism aficionado, trying to balance a collector’s heart with a minimalist soul. She had a keen eye for home décor and turned every home she owned into a beautiful sanctuary full of charming vignettes wherever you looked.

During her years in Rigby, Idaho, Heidi raised friendly chickens and loved her family’s menagerie of soft cats and loyal dogs. She produced a huge and vibrant flower garden, selling her flowers at the local farmer’s markets. This year she planted a sprawling herb and vegetable garden from seeds she lovingly tended on grow tables in her little art studio. Her garden was just taking hold after a cold spring and will produce a plentiful bounty this year with the help of Bret, Madelyn, and local friends.

Heidi herself was the only person who didn’t realize how exquisite, talented, accomplished, and beautiful she was. She was adored and intensely loved by her close-knit family and especially her sweethearts, Bret and Madelyn. She has left a tender and loving legacy — a colorful, flower-shaped hole that will never be filled. We are so lucky to have these short 50 years with our adorable Heidi Pie.

Heidi is survived by her parents; her partner, Bret Roger Weber, of Rigby, Idaho; her daughter, Madelyn Daisy Weber, of Rigby, Idaho; her siblings Wendy (Byron Goff) Weaver, of Clifton, Colorado; David (Leena) Weaver, of Nampa, Idaho; Steven (Alison) Weaver, of Highland, Utah; Mathew Weaver, of Salt Lake City, Utah; Micah (Nancy) Weaver, of Taylorsville, Utah; and eleven nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her family’s beloved dogs, Garcia and Stash; and cats, Piper and Misty.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Donald George and Betty Richardson Weaver; and Don Clarke and Daisy Whitney (Virginia Ericksen) Rigby.

A funeral for Heidi will be held at noon on Friday, July 23, 2021, in Bancroft, Idaho, at the Bancroft LDS Ward House, 311 South Main. Heidi’s family will receive friends and extended family at the Bancroft Ward House from 11:00 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. A graveside service will be held after the funeral at the Bancroft, Idaho, Cemetery.