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800 Mourners Come To Say Goodbye To Teacher

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

PLANT CITY - A Polk teacher with Plant City roots who authorities say was killed by her husband before he took his own life was remembered Thursday as a devoted mother and dedicated educator.

About 800 mourners said goodbye to 37-year-old Heather Lynn Rimmer in funeral services at First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland.

"There are no words that can help us face the grief we feel here today," said the church's senior pastor, the Rev. Jay Dennis.

"This service will be a celebration of Heather's life. People here know her, but we will let them know her a little better."

Heather Rimmer was shot Aug. 23 by her 40-year-old husband, Larry C. "Clay" Rimmer II, at their Lakeland home in what Polk deputies labeled a murder-suicide.

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.

Many of the mourners were teachers, students and their families who came to pay their respects and lend support to the approximate 45 members of Heather Rimmer's family.

A photographic slide show featured pictures of her from her birth June 5, 1971, to a week before her death, where she posed with her daughters as they readied for the first day of school.

"These have been days of shock, anger, disbelief and sadness. And the biggest question for all of us is why," Dennis said. "All that is left to us is hope. And God's great promises of comfort, hope and peace."

Dennis recalled how Heather Rimmer taught and touched many lives.
Amanda Lowe, a niece to Heather, spoke during the service.

"It breaks my heart that you are not here with us today," Lowe said. "You lit up the room whenever you walked in. I don't know how we can get through this tragic time without you."

Addressing Rimmer's two young daughters, Lowe said, "I want life to go on for you. I want you to
have reason and hope. I want you to believe your mother will always be with you and that you can carry on your days with hope in your heart."

Paige Rimmer, 12, who took a turn at the microphone with her 7-year-old sister, Jordyn, spoke of their mother.

"You were our role model, like no one else could be," Paige Rimmer said. "I believe that everything happens for a reason. It was time for this to happen. I will always think of you.

"For all of you here, remember this. Good things happen to bad people. And bad things happen to good people."

Many friends, colleagues and other relatives spoke briefly during the service. One of the comments was echoed by Dennis as he closed the service.

"Life is a vapor. We have no promises of a tomorrow," Dennis said. "Heather is doing in death what she could not do in life. God did not cause this event to happen. But she is with God in heaven now. Let us all find peace in that."

According to Polk County records, sheriff's deputies received a 911 call at approximately 7:50 a.m. regarding shots fired at the Rimmer home at 5892 Highridge Loop. After deputies arrived, they found that Clay Rimmer had shot and killed his wife and then shot himself to death, authorities said.

Heather Rimmer filed for an injunction for protection against her husband Aug. 7, the sheriff's office said, but it was dropped Aug. 20 at her request.

"On Aug. 7, our office took a statement from Heather Rimmer regarding an act of violence that took place outside our jurisdiction. A judge found enough evidence to warrant an injunction against her husband, Larry Rimmer. Heather rescinded the injunction through the court on Aug. 20," Polk sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilder said.

Heather Rimmer and their daughters, who had been living elsewhere for a time, moved back into the Highridge Loop home on Aug. 20.

"The children were at home when the shooting occurred," Wilder said.
Heather's mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Bob Roebuck, have taken custody of Paige and Jordyn. Wilder wouldn't say if they saw the shooting, but their grandmother said they did.

Bonnie Roebuck said Heather's husband was very controlling and threatened to harm her daughter. "We pleaded with her to stay away. But she wanted her children to be with their father. She was a courageous woman."

After rescinding the restraining order and returning to their house, Heather quickly saw that she could no longer stay with him, Bonnie Roebuck said.

"The last time I saw Heather, we hugged, thank God, and Heather told me she would be all right. She said she wasn't afraid of him anymore."

Bonnie Roebuck said on the morning of the shooting, "Heather told him it was over, and she and the kids were leaving for good."

Clay Rimmer went to a back room, loaded a gun and shot Heather in the chest, she said.
"Heather told the girls to run, but they stood there in shock as he shot Heather in the head and then himself. The girls ran out the back door and climbed the fence, to get away and find someone to help them," Bonnie Roebuck said.

Clay Rimmer needed help and was offered counseling, Bob Roebuck said, but "he refused to get it."
Heather Rimmer was buried at Lakeland Memorial Gardens.

Her grandmother, Louise Gibbs, a former manager of the Florida Strawberry Festival, said Heather, whose maiden name was Hatley, received a degree in elementary education from the University of South Florida. She worked at Valleyview Elementary in Lakeland for seven years. For the past three years, she was a teacher at South McKeel Academy, also in Lakeland.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
A savings fund for the two surviving daughters, Paige and Jordyn Rimmer, has been set up with separate accounts at the Marcum Road Wachovia Bank, 6711 N. U.S. 98, Lakeland FL 33809. The Paige Rimmer account number is 1010220937120; the Jordyn Rimmer account number is 1010220937133.

Banking hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Any Wachovia Bank will accept deposits for those accounts.
For information, call the bank at (863) 815-2050.

HEATHER LYNN RIMMER
BORN: June 5, 1971, in Lakeland
DIED: Aug. 23, 2008, in Lakeland
OCCUPATION: Teacher at South McKeel Elementary Academy
SURVIVORS: She is survived by her daughters, Paige Lauren Rimmer and Jordyn Elizabeth Rimmer; mother, Bonnie G. Roebuck, and stepfather, Robert Roebuck, of Lakeland; sister, Amy Louise Lowe, of Lakeland; maternal grandmother, Louise V. Gibbs, of Lakeland; uncles Charlie G. Gibbs and his wife, Susan, of Lakeland, and Cameron G. Gibbs and his wife, Lori, of Jacksonville; and a niece, nephews and cousins. Rimmer was predeceased by her maternal grandfather, Charlie G. Gibbs, and brother, James R. Hatley Jr.

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

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