‘We just miss him’: Liberty Lake skier memorialized by friends following death
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — It has been three months since a Liberty Lake man died in a skiing accident at Schweitzer. Heath McHenry left a hole in everyone’s heart, though his life will not be forgotten.
McHenry was a husband and a father to three children. The avid skier liked to go on walks with his wife, Kelsy.
“No one can prepare you for what it feels like to lose somebody unexpectedly,” she said. “I miss walking with him on my path.”
Kelsy walks a particular path along Trailhead Golf Course every day. She used to go alone, then Heath started tagging along. On the walk they would pass a bench.
She only sat there once with her daughter.
“My daughter and I came up here a few days after Heath died and we sat on that bench together,” Kelsy said.
The bench will now create a different memory thanks to some friends and community members.
“My hope is that it’ll give her some sort of peace and just a time to relax and reflect with Heath,” said Jerianne Foy, a friend of Kelsy’s.
Kelsy’s friends told her to come to the bench on Monday evening. She did not know exactly what was going to happen until she opened a gift.
“Thank you so much,” Kelsy said holding back tears.
They got Kelsy a plaque that said “In Loving Memory of Heath McHenry” followed by “Forever Part of The Liberty Lake Community.”
Community members and friends also put some gift baskets together for Kelsy, her daughter and two sons.
“We just miss him and I appreciate this because any chance to think about him or honor him, basically these guys know, I do,” she said.
Kelsy said her husband’s death is a reminder to love who you are with and it is not about what you have. It is about who you have that counts.
“He loved all of us the best and the most that he could. He gave it his all,” she said. “I talk about him all the time so now he’s apart of my walk.”
RELATED: Man dies from skiing accident injury at Schweitzer on Friday
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