A lifetime of compassion and activism

More than 50 friends, family and colleagues gathered Tuesday at the Simon Benson House to honor the memory of Heather Hartley, an associate professor of sociology at Portland State who died almost three weeks ago.

The room was thick with grief as, one by one, those who knew Hartley best shared their memories.

“I babysat her daughter Maya, and she meant a lot to me because I’m not from here,” said Jessica Gogan, 21. “She really tried to get to know me. She tried to relate to me and gave me support.”

Hartley’s husband Jeff Gersh said building relationships was Hartley’s calling card.

“Heather was an authentic person who cared,” Gersh said. “When she asked you how you were, she wasn’t looking for a platitude answer. She really wanted to know. That’s why she connected, because people knew she was real. Nobody like her … she was the most compassionate person I knew.”

Hartley was educated at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and came to Portland State in 1999. Hartley committed suicide on Oct. 4.

“She was a compassionate humanist who cared about the disenfranchised,” Gersh said. “That’s why she was a sociologist. That’s why she was a teacher.”

During her nine-year stint at Portland State, Hartley developed six new courses and taught classes such as Sociology of Women, where she befriended grad student Jen Moore almost two years ago.

“We started as faculty and student,” Moore said. “We quickly became fast friends. Once the term was up we felt free to become friends.”

Moore said she and Hartley talked about “everything” and that Hartley was looking forward to mentoring Moore once she became pregnant.

“She was very much looking forward to me being pregnant,” Moore said. “Heather was empowering. We are losing a colleague, a mentor and teacher. A light is going out at PSU. Our job is to keep it lit in her honor.”

There are several projects in the works to help do that. Hartley will be enshrined with a plaque on the Walk of Heroines, and there is now a scholarship fund set up for her 5-year-old daughter, Maya.

In addition, Gersh said there will be a separate scholarship or other initiative attached to the university to honor Hartley’s memory.

“We would like to create a fund in Heather’s name to support the work that Heather started,” Gersh said. “It’s going to take some time to figure out what this initiative looks like. Heather’s work is not finished.”