Bonnie let us know that Leanne’s younger sister Heather passed away recently. Leanne gave us permission to share Heather’s obituary as a tribute to her life.
Heather Lane Shank died at her home following a long illness on Thursday, August 6, 2015.
A Memorial Service to celebrate Heather’s life will be held at 6PM, Thursday, August 20th at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Heather was born on April 21, 1956 to James Ronald Shank and Ruth (Pinky) Beye in Iowa City, Iowa.
She graduated early from West High School in 1973. In 1980, Heather graduated from Saint Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was a traveling nurse in New Orleans, LA, Miami, FL, Reno, Nevada, San Luis Obispo, CA and Wharton, TX, but she worked the majority of her nursing career at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics until 1986. Heather was a graduate of the College of Law at the University of Iowa and worked for Kinnamon, Kinnamon, Russo and Meyer Law Firm. In August of 1994 Heather was hired by the City of Iowa City as the Human Rights Coordinator.
Heather had a compassionate approach to the protection of human rights and to anyone who faced discriminatory practices. As coordinator, Heather implemented policies to prevent discrimination in areas of sexual orientation, gender identity and challenged the discriminatory practice of bullying. Because of this, Iowa City became a model for other communities located inside and outside the state of Iowa that sought films or programs on human rights issues. Heather has received numerous honors in the past, including the City’s own Human Rights Award (2002), the Iowa City Pride Committee Legacy Award (2005), and the annual Friends of Iowa Civil Rights Award (2005), among others. She was to receive the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the Iowa City Human Rights Commission which, has been since been named to the Heather Shank Lifetime Achievement Award, in October 2015. Heather retired from her position as Human Rights Coordinator in December 2005 due to her illness.
Heather’s passion was to give voice to the powerless, and to fight human right abuses. She practiced this at work and in life. She was an avid reader and loved talking about books until she could no longer see well enough to read. She also enjoyed going to movies and out to dinner, especially Joseph’s, with her friends and family. Heather, being primarily confined to her home, enjoyed identifying birds and making her back yard a bird sanctuary.
Survivors include two sisters; Brigitte Sliger (Wayne Sliger) of Iowa City; Leanne Bissell of Bloomington, Indiana, four nieces; Madeline, Olivia, Stephanie and Shanetta, three nephews, Jordan, Caleb and Gabriel, her grandfather Floyd Vesely and three grandnieces and three grandnephews. Survivors also include Heather’s many treasured and beloved friends. Heather was preceded in death by her parents, James and Ruth (Pinky) Shank, her maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother.