Lisa Hibbard

1960 - 2021

LISA HIBBARD
August 31, 1960 ˜ December 6, 2021

Lisa Hibbard passed away at her home in Hazel Dell Dec. 6, 2021, after a short and fearless battle with cancer. Lisa died in the care of her family and her many loving friends. She was 61 years old.
Lisa was born Aug. 31, 1960, in Monterey, CA. As the daughter of a Naval officer, Lisa grew up in a family that moved around a lot: from Monterey to Norfolk, VA; from Norfolk to Newport, RI; from there to San Diego, and then back again to Newport; and in 1976, to Draper, UT.
After all that moving about, Lisa settled in Washington State in the late 1980s. Lisa’s parents had preceded her there, having bought a home in Vancouver after Lisa’s dad retired from the Navy. Vancouver was her mom’s hometown, and Lisa had memories going back to early childhood of family visits to Vancouver to see her grandmother Mary Carver and her great grandmother Alice Truxel (known simply as “Ma”) at their little house on 28th Street. For a time, Lisa herself lived in that little house with her three sons.
Lisa was drawn from an early age to a career in health care. She completed her LPN at the University of Utah and then qualified as a Physician Assistant (PA) by completing their MedEx program. In the late ’80s and into the ’90s, Lisa worked as a PA in Olympia and in Curlew, WA. She then moved to Vancouver and was for some years a full-time mom for her three boys. In 2005, Lisa returned to work at the Veterans Affairs’ Office of Community Care in Portland, OR, and later in Vancouver.
Lisa was loved, admired, and deeply valued by her colleagues at the VA. She was an industrious worker and a dedicated advocate for her staff. She was the best kind of boss, one who always had your back. And when you really got to know Lisa, to see beyond her worker bee persona, you discovered a woman of subtle nuance and flair, a woman passionately fond of certain types of felt-tipped pens, a woman who could never really conceal her secret Coca-Cola addiction. When some laughs were called for, Lisa might dance the Macarena with a colleague or two. She loved to laugh, and when a joke or a wisecrack hit her funny bone, Lisa would let out a beautifully unfiltered guffaw.
Lisa was a craftswoman of unique and understated artistry. She loved to give to friends, to family, and to colleagues all sorts of gifts that she made by hand: little heart-shaped pillows, coasters made of felt with curious spiral designs, bespoke greeting cards, all kinds of things. Her gifts could seem at first glance modest creations, in part because she gave them so modestly. But they were crafted with skill and rare originality. In making her gifts, Lisa drew upon troves of hand-printed paper, scraps of vintage cloth, clippings from old books and magazines, all sorts of material that she’d gathered over the years with a discerning, curatorial eye. Lisa was an unassuming artist, and a true one.
Prayer was for Lisa the greatest gift. She prayed for others with total commitment and with openhearted joy. When she learned that others were praying for her, sometimes Lisa wept tears of gratitude. Lisa’s own prayer was that of her passionately held Christian faith, but she warmly welcomed all manner of healing thoughts, good vibes, lovingkindness and such, so long as it was heartfelt, well-meaning, and true. She was moved by the loving intention that she found in prayer and by the gift of good will.
Lisa was a beloved member of the Heritage Church in Vancouver, and she felt herself securely held by her church family. Lisa was a home group leader for the church, and as one of her church friends writes, Lisa “took others’ cares as her own and refused to let cancer turn her focus inward. To the very end she faced down disease with unselfishness, courage, and a deep, sustained, unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. We are grateful to God for the gift of her life.” As Lisa grappled with her final illness, her church family were as supportive, generous, and loving to her, as she was to them.
Lisa is survived by her mother, Ann Carver Hansen; her brother, Carl William Hansen; her sons, Gabriel William Ennis, Isaac Aaron Ennis, and Luke Matthew Hibbard; and her former spouses, John Ennis and Rick Hibbard.
She was preceded in death by her father, Capt. Rodney Val Hansen, USN.
A memorial service for Lisa will be held at Heritage Church NW, 8803 NE 76th St., Vancouver, WA, on Sunday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m.
Should you wish to make a donation in Lisa’s memory, please consider the Heritage Victory Fund, which is a benevolence fund addressing national as well as local needs. Donations can be made online at HeritageNW.org, or by check written to Heritage Church with “Victory Fund” in the “for” line.
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