Heather Schisler, 39, of Elm Springs, Arkansas went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 30, 2023 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Heather was born on June 30, 1984 to her parents Wayne and Patricia Story in Springdale, Arkansas.
In the fall of 2003, Heather and Jonathan crossed paths during her freshman year at the University of Arkansas. Jonathan pursued her diligently and they started dating the following February. They were married on August 4, 2006 and would have celebrated 17 years of marriage this year. Heather and Jonathan went on to have six children, four living: Zachary, Hailey, Presley Kate (2011), Madden, Baby Schisler (2020), and Breelyn Grace, who just turned one.
Heather attended Cross Church in Springdale since 1999. She volunteered in numerous ways including in the nursery, as a children’s small group leader, participating in and directing the Dance Ministry, choreographing and co-leading the Kids’ Worship Ministry, organizing Night to Shine/Promtastic for the Abilities Ministry, VBS, and in a variety of other productions. Heather loved supporting missions and her favorite trip was to lead VBS at First Baptist San Francisco. She loved to financially support and feed orphaned babies and supported Jonathan on his trip to Malawi in 2021.
In 2009, Heather started a blog for her family and friends teaching them how to save money on everyday essentials. She was a pioneer in the blogging community and social media marketing. She rebranded the blog from NWAdeals.net to PassionForSavings.com after realizing its potential reach and has amassed over 274 million pageviews by helping families save money and manage their budgets. Heather loved to say, “Save where you can, so you can spend where you want” and she loved to spend on family vacations! Heather’s influence was far reaching with over 1.7 million followers on various social media platforms. She was always in tune with her audience and recognized the need to help families simplify their lives through meal planning and time management which led to her creating MenuPlans.com and FocusedLifePlanner.com. Heather’s success allowed Jonathan to join her in working together full time for the last 5 years. Heather’s legacy will continue to live on through the team she has built to support her online communities and businesses.
Heather loved to plan family vacations which included trips to Cancun, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Vallarta, Costa Rica, Destin, Park City, Las Vegas, NYC, Washington DC, Orlando, Newport Beach, San Diego and more. She told Jonathan several times in the last few months, “Don’t stop traveling. Take the kids on all the trips.”
Heather was predeceased by her children Presley Kate and Baby Schisler; grandfather A.J. Standiford, grandfather Olley Story, grandmother Cortez Story; and step-grandmother Martha Story. Heather is survived by her husband Jonathan and their children Zachary, Hailey, Madden and Breelyn; grandmother Helen Sandiford; parents Wayne and Patricia Story; brother Travis Story; sister-in-law Ashleigh Story; sister Julie Smithson; brother-in-law Ryan Smithson; nephews Asa, Jackson, and Wyatt Story; nieces Raley Story, Sagely and Langley Smithson.
Public visitation will be held at Cross Church Springdale on August 4, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 pm (central time).
The funeral service will be held at Cross Church Springdale on August 5, 2023, at 10:00 am (central time), immediately followed by a reception. Children are welcome to attend with their families. The funeral will be live streamed here: https://crosschurch.com/live A private graveside service will take place later in the day.
As part of the celebration of Heather’s life, the family requests that you bring a written memory and/or photo of Heather to the service to be given to the family and shared at the reception.
