Heidi Michelle Eng

Former Walla Walla resident, Heidi Eng, passed away unexpectedly to be with the Lord at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on December 21, 2022, due to a brain aneurysm. She had lived and worked in Seattle for the past 25 years.

Born in 1974 in Walla Walla, Heidi graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1992, and she graduated from University of Washington in 1997. After her college graduation, she went on to work more than 20 years as a producer/writer for King 5 Television's news magazine Evening Magazine and morning talk show New Day Northwest. For the past two and a half years, she was a producer for Mighty Media Studios in Bellevue. She was involved in a number of productions for their client Microsoft, including the Outside In speaker series, Employee Town Hall, and Tokyo game show for the Xbox programming team. She also led the Diversity, Equity, and Community team and offered mentorship to junior producers and freelancers new to the corporate world. Heidi used her God-given gifts of writing and creativity to work tirelessly at her craft, always striving to produce the highest quality results. She won the praise of many work associates. During her career at Evening Magazine, Heidi won three regional Emmy Awards for her work in 2002, 2004, and 2005. In 2009, with the assistance of a partner, she also created and sold to an entertainment media company a documentary video, "Miss Runner-Up." The documentary profiles a Washington State/Miss America beauty pageant contestant who placed a record seven times as runner-up before reaching the age limit. Subsequently, she switched to the Miss Washington/Miss USA pageant and again was runner-up twice before finally winning on her third attempt.

Heidi left this world all too soon, but she left an indelible footprint. Her Christian upbringing led her to show compassion and assistance in many ways for the homeless, the hungry, the cancer-stricken, and discriminated people. She displayed the Christian ideals of love, thoughtfulness, kindness, and care for others, especially her family and friends. She was also a fun-loving and hard-working person, who often placed the needs of others above her own. Wherever she went, she was noted for her fashion sense, especially bold and stylish shoes and eyeglasses. Always youthful, she enjoyed taking dance classes at Westlake Dance Center and participating in their annual public dance performances. At family gatherings, her presence usually livened up the atmosphere. Heidi will be greatly missed by all.

Heidi is survived by her father Richard (step-mother Hong) in West Richland, brother Jeff in Bothell, step-brother Peter Chen (A-Bao) in Morgan Hill, CA, step-sister Diana Chen (Alcides) in Sunnyvale, CA, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her beloved mother Cathy in 2008 and her two grandmothers and two grandfathers.

There will be a private family funeral and graveside service later this month. A memorial service at a later date in Seattle is also being planned. Donations in Heidi's memory may be made to Christian Aid Center in Walla Walla, Northwest Harvest in Seattle, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Westlake Dance Center in Seattle.