Remembering Heather
Heather McKeekan died suddenly and unexpectedly on October 6, 2024.
Heather was a fierce advocate for social justice, spending her life engaging in the pursuit of making the world a better place. She led the charge for holding local government accountable to the people and trained hundreds of people how to monitor and report bad actors. Heather gave several presentations and served on panels addressing the dangers of stochastic terrorism in our communities and the radical groups targeting our schools, libraries, and municipal governments.
With a Master’s Degree in Community Health, she was coordinator of the EMT Program at WIU from 1992-2000. She held various administrative and management positions at WIU through 2022. She also served as advisor to student organizations and on numerous university committees.
Heather served as IDW’s Digital Media Director since 2019 and was instrumental in activating and organizing women throughout the central, western, and southern parts of Illinois. Heather’s friendship, leadership, and enthusiasm for improving the lives of everyone in the community will be greatly missed.
In her honor, IDW created the Heather McMeekan Award for an advocate for racial justice and civil rights and named Heather as the first recipient.
Her children, Iris and Kellen, are raising funds for a memorial headstone next to her mother’s grave in Wisconsin. If you care to help, click below.
