Comet senior Sakira Brown awarded Amy Boley Heiter Memorial Scholarship

To The Press

CHARLES CITY — Last Friday night (Feb. 7) in Comet Gym between the girls junior varsity basketball game and the boys varsity basketball game, the Amy Boley Heiter $500 Memorial Scholarship was presented to Charles City Comet senior guard Sakira Brown.

Amy Boley Heiter, the daughter of Cliff and Jean, and sister of Coleman, Crystal, Matthew and Adam Boley, was born, as she would say, on the best day of the year, December 18, 1989. Amy attended Charles City High School and graduated in 2008. She was very active on the Comet varsity basketball team during high school, and she continued her basketball career at NIACC. She was known as a shooter to opposing teams and was definitely a 3-point shooting threat, and Oh How! Amy loved to celebrate after draining a three.  On December 18, 2007, Amy turned 18 and proceeded to score 18 points in her golden birthday game.

Amy’s last game for NIACC was a tournament game. She put up six 3-point shots in the first half.  Things got rough in the third quarter and she ended up with a sprained wrist.

Amy was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma in late October 2013; she was 23 years old, finishing a college education, and a newlywed at the time.

Synovial Sarcoma is one of the rarest forms of soft tissue cancer in the world. Being in the pelvic cavity made Amy’s cancer even more rare. Amy underwent three surgeries, numerous rounds of chemotherapy, and many other medical procedures, all of that happening during her student teaching experience at Washington Elementary. She graduated from UNI on December 21, 2013 with her BA in Elementary and early childhood education.

Amy was determined to not let cancer stop her from accomplishing her goals. Through everything, she always had a smile that was never ending.

Amy’s first surgery was October 14, 2013.

She underwent exploratory surgery in the spring of 2014, and approximately three months after surgery and a couple rounds of chemo, her scans were CLEAR!

Unfortunately, the excitement did not last long as the cancer came back in the fall. In October of 2014, Amy underwent another surgery. If Amy didn’t have the surgery she only had days to weeks to live. This surgery gave Amy six months almost to the day.

Amy received her teaching certificate on April 21, 2015 and passed away on April 29, 2015.  She never quit during her battle against cancer. Her strength and her positive attitude will continue to inspire others. She is greatly missed.

A quote was found in Amy’s things after she passed away: “I want to inspire people, I want someone to look at me and say, because of you, I didn’t give up.”

This scholarship is given to someone who loves and plays the game of basketball and who wants to further their education in a field that will help others.

Thank you to Sue Hoefer, who helped us with the evening arrangements and who took pictures for us; and to Erik Hoefer who has been there to read about Amy for the last nine years. We are so grateful for you.

This year our son, Coleman, and his two girls, Maura Jean and Lainey James, were able to be here for the presentation.

— Text provided by
Amy Boley Heiter’s family