BRUNSWICK — Dr. Heather DeForest, of 61 Friendship St., Brunswick, Maine, passed away at Midcoast Hospital on July 24, 2008 following a protracted battle with pancreatic cancer. She and her husband had moved here in August of 2006 after her husband had been offered a position at Midcoast Hospital and the two had fallen in love with the area.

Heather was a member of the University Women's Club of Toronto. She was a patron of numerous charities, including The Defenders of Wildlife, The Sierra Club, and The American Civil Liberties Union.

Favorite activities included reading, swimming, skiing and hiking, that is, virtually all pursuits which might be shared with her seven children. She especially enjoyed the study of geography and the history of World War II.

She was an avid peace activist, most recently having marched with her husband and seven children at Kennebunkport and in Boston. She was an active supporter of Representative Dennis Kuciniches' presidential primary candidacy.

She worked as a nurse in her native Canada for 25 years at various firms, including The Hospital for Sick Children, St. Michael's Hospital and Toronto General Hospital.

She graduated from St. George's University School of Medicine in June of 1989, completed her residency in Family Medicine at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, in Utica, NY and worked as a physician in the Emergency Department at Genesee Hospital, in Rochester, NY until 1999 at which time she and her husband adopted their seven children, and Heather dedicated herself, wholly and completely, to being a mother.

Pre-deceased by her father, Angus MacDonald Dunsby on June 4, 1987, Heather is survived by her loving mother Evelyn Louise (Gasson) Dunsby, her devoted husband, Vaughn, and her adoring children - Julietta Elizabeth (18), Leslie Tatiana (16), Elena Caroline (15), Charles Christopher (13), Sally Irinna (13), John MacKenzie (12), and Kristin Eugenia "Jenna"(10), as well as her much loved dogs, Jasmine, Winnie, Goldie and Meggie.

Services will take place in Bracebridge and in Stratford, Ontario and are to be scheduled at a later date.

Heather (and Vaughn) wish to express their deepest gratitude to The Midcoast Cancer Center, to all the wonderful doctors, nurses, support staff, and administrators at Midcoast Hospital; to Sydney Dolat (especially) and all the superb nurses and volunteers of CHANS Home Hospice Care, to Seavey's Appliances for their extraordinary gift to our family, to Siegfried Sesh and Woolwich Methodist Parish, to Reverend Gordon Cook, to Fr. Andrew and St. John's Parish, to Fr. Cancannon and the Parish of St. Charles, and to our dear friends and neighbors on Friendship Street.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Heather's memory may be addressed to either of two organizations: (1) Our local Home Hospice Volunteer Association; or (2) The Tedford Shelter.

Our thanks to all our surrounding communities for your kind thoughts and prayers. Frankly, we have been overwhelmed by the out-pouring of generosity and kindness, such as we have never known before.