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There's Hope For The Future

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: November 19, 2008

PLANT CITY - Friends and family of the late Heather Hatley Rimmer are planning a fundraiser to help brighten the future for her two young daughters.

The girls, Paige, 12, and Jordyn, 7, were orphaned when their father, Larry C. "Clay" Rimmer, killed his 37-year old wife before he shot himself in what Polk County deputies say was a murder-suicide.

The two girls witnessed the killings at their Lakeland home, family members said.

Heather's Hope is the name of a fundraiser to be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday at Keel & Curley Winery, 5210 W. Thonotosassa Road. Tickets are $15, and the evening includes food, wine samples, live music and a silent auction.

Eighty percent of the proceeds will go to help the children, who are living with Heather's mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Bob Roebuck of Lakeland. The remainder will go to The Spring of Tampa Bay, which aids victims of domestic abuse.

The sisters continue to attend the same Lakeland schools they attended before their parents died.

Margaret Boswell, a classmate and best friend with Heather Rimmer at Plant City High, has joined with other classmates, friends and family of the deceased mother to help raise money for the welfare of the children.

"Everyone who knew Heather is heartbroken and saddened," Boswell said. "We would give anything to have her back with us again. Now we will do everything we can do to help her daughters get through this."

Heather Rimmer was a teacher at Lakeland's South McKeel Elementary Academy and a 1989 graduate of Plant City High School. Her husband, who operated a lawn service, attended Plant City High in the mid-1980s.
Jordyn and Paige have been doing as well as could be expected since the death of their parents, keeping up their grades and enjoying school activities, Bonnie Roebuck said. They have spent a lot of time recently with friends of their mother and relatives who are organizing fundraisers. Recently the sisters attended an organizational meeting at the home of Tammy Simpson, a former classmate of her mother.

"I'm in the second grade at McKeel Elementary Academy," Jordyn Rimmer said. "I think I like math and reading best. My mom used to read to us all the time. Me and my sister have reading times at home so we can learn more."

Those who attend the fundraiser are asked to bring a new children's book that will be donated to local area schools in memory of the girl's mother.

Paige Rimmer, who often seems more emotionally mature than her age, is a seventh-grader at the McKeel Academy of Technology.

"Jordyn and I both like math," the big sister said. "We do all our homework together. She does all her worksheets by herself."

Paige Rimmer said she is doing reasonably well since her parents' death.

"I'm happy that so many people care about my sister and me," she said. "It's crazy. I just didn't know how many people, people I don't even know and never met, would go out of their way to help us. There was a golf tournament set up that got rained out Oct. 24. But people didn't go home. They stayed for the dinner and showed us their support."

Heather Rimmer received her degree in elementary education at the University of South Florida. She worked at Valleyview Elementary in Lakeland for seven years before joining the staff at South McKeel Elementary Academy three years ago.

A lot of her high school friends are active in supporting the future of her children, Boswell said.

"This whole thing was such a horrible tragedy," Boswell said. "Heather was so sweet, so much fun to be with when we were in school. But her husband was mentally abusive to her, almost from the start. Over the years she was forced to withdraw from almost all her friends. The last time I saw her, just a few months before she died, I was shocked at how she looked. You could tell something was wrong. I asked her about it, but she just wouldn't say that anything was wrong. It makes me cry when I think about it."

Heather Rimmer filed for an injunction for protection against her husband Aug. 7, but it was dropped Aug. 20 at her request. She and their daughters, who had been living elsewhere for a time, moved back into the Highridge Loop home in Lakeland on Aug. 20.

On the morning of Aug. 23, the 40-year-old Rimmer shot and killed his wife and then shot himself, Polk deputies said. The couple had been married since the early 1990s.

Simpson is among those helping organize the fundraiser.

"Anything that I can do to help Heather's family, I will be glad to do," Simpson said. "Margaret and I have made fliers, walked in the neighborhoods and done everything we can think of to get the word out."

Simpson said she has a personal mission that has come out of Heather's tragic death.

"I have a daughter, 20, and a son, who is 16," Simpson said. "I made it a point that we talked about this. There is no face on abusive behavior. Anyone could be abused or be an abusing person. I told them that abuse, or abusive behavior, is a sickness people attempt to hide. But it should never be confused with love. Mental and physical abuse is an attempt to control someone. It isn't love. It should never be confused or thought of as love."

Sherry Bramlett said she was good friends with Heather Rimmer since the seventh grade. She moved to Georgia 10 years ago where she attended college and then stayed to build a career.

"We stayed in touch," Bramlett said. "I last saw her just before our 15th year high school reunion. It didn't matter how long it was. We always caught up like no time had passed."

"I was devastated and in total shock when I heard about her death," she said. "I literally fell to the ground when I heard that she was murdered. It took me several minutes to be able to get back on my feet."

Bramlett said that about one month before Rimmer's death she had a sense that something was wrong with her friend.

"I didn't know what it was. I hadn't talked to anyone about her. I just felt very heavy in my heart. I just knew something was wrong."

Bramlett called Boswell and asked her about it.

"She told me something was going wrong in Heather's life," Bramlett said. "How on Earth can something like this happen?"

The fundraiser "is a great event for Heather's family," Bramlett said.

"It is something we all can do to keep Heather alive in our hearts. The Bible tells us to be a mother to the motherless and a father to the fatherless. We need to chip in and help whenever we can. I want to make life better for Heather's girls. I know we can make a big difference in their lives."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Heather's Hope, a fundraiser for the orphaned children of Heather Hatley Rimmer

FEATURES: Live music, food, drinks and silent auction
WHEN: 6 to 11 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Keel & Curley Winery, 5210 W. Thonotosassa Road, Plant City; the winery is off Interstate 4, Exit 17, at Branch Forbes and Thonotosassa roads.

TICKETS: $15; available in advance at Sunshine State Federal Savings and Loan, 102 W. Baker St., Hillsboro Bank, 509 W. Alexander St., and Tip to Toe Nail Salon, 101 S. Alexander St.

INFORMATION: Margaret Boswell at (813) 737-4104 or mbscooterpie71

@aol.com

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

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