Heidi H Pain

Heidi Holt Pain

Heidi was the eldest daughter of Parker Holt and Geraldine Schaddelee Holt. She grew up at the end of Gasparilla Drive on the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers, along with her three beloved sisters. They spent most of their time in the untamed Florida outdoors that was their backyard. The girls fearlessly explored the river and Gulf. They all learned to boat, swim, waterski and generally run wild and raise hell. Their father, or "Daddy," was none too pleased when the girls sank a boat. It was never clear which sister was responsible.

The Schaddelee/Holt family had strong ties to the Fort Myers community. The girls participated in the Edison Pageant of Light, and Heidi was crowned Queen. The sisters went to boarding school in Gulfport, Mississippi, where Heidi thrived. She was intellectually curious and truly brilliant, but it seems much of her time there was spent playing bridge and smoking cigarettes. She was the president of her class.

When it was time for Heidi to attend college, Daddy said no girl of his was going up to that wild University in Gainesville with those boys. Heidi went to Vanderbilt for a year, then transferred to SMU in Texas, where she was eventually joined by her sisters. The girls joined Delta Gamma sorority and earned their degrees despite tearing around Dallas having fun. 

Living in a landlocked city was not Heidi's cup of tea. She returned to Florida, married, and raised her daughters on the East coast before eventually returning to Fort Myers. Heidi lived across the street from the beach in Indialantic and was an avid shell collector.  She hosted her sisters and nieces for many happy vacations in her home. She was always up for an adventure. During the oil crisis she waited in the gasoline lines, then drove her oldest daughter and niece to Orlando for their first Disney trip. In Fort Lauderdale she zipped around the canals on her Boston Whaler. She led a terrifying cruise through Port Everglades, where the container ships' waves nearly swamped the boat. She earned her private pilot's license around this time.

Anytime a Willie Nelson song played, or the sun set over the Gulf, Heidi was at her happiest. Enjoying these things in her memory are her daughters Kim and Trudi, grandchildren Joe and Pearl, sisters Trudi and Jan, and numerous nieces and nephews. Heidi is pre-deceased by her niece and namesake, Heidi Keye, and by her younger sister Gerry.

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