Heather Renee Leach, 37, of Reedsport, Oregon, passed away on October 4th, 2025 as the result of a motor vehicle accident.

Born in Coos Bay on May 2, 1988, to Lynda Lou Starke and the late Gary Dale Leach.

Heather's heart belonged first and foremost to her loyal dog, Cade. He remains surrounded by care and affection from Heather's family.

Heather moved through life with curiosity as her compass and wonder as her map. She chased dreams the way some people chase horizons—always certain the next venture, the next project, the next idea would be the one that changed everything. She believed, bone-deep, that hard work could turn anything around, that determination mattered more than circumstance, and that if she just kept pushing forward, she'd figure it out.

She did a little bit of everything—crafting, gardening, building businesses from scratch—not because any single path called to her, but because every path did. She collected skills and stories the way others collect photographs. Life knocked her down more than once, dealt her chapters she didn't deserve, but she never stayed down. She got back up. She kept moving. Forward was the only direction she knew.

Heather saw things differently than most people do. Colors felt brighter to her. Possibilities glowed where others saw dead ends. She lived at her own tempo, hearing music in the ordinary that the rest of us walked right past. It made her restless, yes—but it also made her magic.

She was preceded in death by her father, Gary Leach, and her grandfather, Thomas Leach. She is survived by her mother and stepfather, Lynda and Paul Starke of Reedsport; sister and brother in law Vanessa and Jonathan Driskill of Albany; brother Travis Leach of Pacific, Washington; grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends who will carry her memory forward.