Heather Ann Kroger (Nee Dunn)

Heather Ann Kroger (Nee Dunn) passed away peacefully on July 20 at age 68 after a heroic two-and-a-half-year battle with pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her loving husband of 40 years Ivar Michael William Kroger, her daughter Kathleen Ellsworth (Liam), her son Ivar Kroger (Diandra) and her granddaughter Abigail Heather Ellsworth. Heather is also survived by her parents Ronald and Muriel Dunn, her siblings Linda Hutt, Jim Dunn (Lorraine) and Maria Sampson (Jerome). She was predeceased by her older brother Steve Dunn (Colleen). To know Heather was to love her. She was somebody who met every challenge life had to offer with grit and determination. Growing up in the Dunn family, she learned early on how to get along amongst a sometimes-unruly bunch. After high school, she left home and studied at Acadia University, where she met lifelong friends and graduated with a B.A. She later completed the human resources program and received a B.Ed at Saint Mary's University. Heather loved to read and inspired others by reading the classics. She enjoyed sailing, skiing and was an avid card and game player. Even if, like the rest of the Dunn family, she was a bit of a cheater (But always told you afterwards) For many years, she worked at The Chronicle Herald, first as the paper's News and Education Representative, and later as its Human Resources Manager. From there, she was recruited to be the Maritime Director of Benefits for Great West Life. Her career moved in tandem with her life with Mike and her children Katie and Ivar for most of the 90s until a car accident on a business trip forced an early end to her professional career. The accident was one of the biggest tests of her life and one she met with characteristic gusto. After suffering a traumatic brain injury, she spent 18 weeks in the hospital and endured a lengthy period of rehabilitation afterwards. She had to relearn everything. How to speak. How to walk. Even how to hold a fork and knife. For many, this would have been hard to come back from. But for Heather, it was just another obstacle to overcome. It only strengthened her determination to see Katie and Ivar grow up, become adults, marry, and have children of their own — all things she lived long enough to see. She was so proud of the wonderful people they became. Heather’s most recent love was Abbey, Katie's daughter. Her memory will live on in the stories Abbey will be told about her grandmother in the years to come. Heather was someone you wanted in your corner. To her siblings (and her nieces and nephews) her voice was synonymous with the sound of the phone ringing. She was always calling, often multiple times a day, to see how Maria, Jimmy, Linda, and Steve were doing, to share some gossip, or if we're being honest, to complain about one of her other siblings. To her parents, she was close to a saint, and possibly their favorite of the entire Dunn brood. To her kids, she was a rock, always willing to help them out in any way needed, no questions asked. And to Mike, she was everything. In the last few years, Heather was dealt a tough hand. Pancreatic cancer is a devastating diagnosis, but to nobody's surprise, she often seemed to be the one offering comfort to those around her, instead of the other way around. For the last few years, she helped lead a fundraising team of family and friends at the Kicking Pancreas 5K walk in Dartmouth, N.S. She also joined a support group for those with the disease and was grateful to share stories and connect with others going through the same challenging time. She had amazing people in her life. A special thanks to her great friend Gloria Sherman O'Brien who was always ready with assistance, food and a cheery remark, and her travel friends, the Florida gang, and of course, the Bonko Babes. They were a source of plenty of laughs even when times were hard. A service will be held on Thursday, July 31 at 11:00 am at St. Stephens Church 6032 Normandy Drive Halifax. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Craig’s Cause Pancreatic Cancer Society.

Heather Ann Kroger (Nee Dunn)

July 20, 2025