Tatianna Kimler
courtesy photo
Tatianna Kimler
PORTLAND, OREGON — Tatianna Nichole Kimler, 33, passed away peacefully on May 25, 2023, in Portland, Oregon, after a five-month valiant fight with a rare form of acute leukemia. Tatianna made her way home to heaven with her family by her side.
Tatianna was born July 7, 1989, at St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Oregon, to Amy Elizabeth Mullan and Jim Kimler. When she was two years old, she moved with her mother to Stevensville, where they lived with her Papa Dan. While her mother attended college, she was raised alongside her uncles Ryan, Kerry and Keith until she was in third grade. At that time, they moved to Polson, fulltime, where they had spent many summers along Flathead Lake with family, specifically with her cousins Briana, Bethany and Blake at Papa and Grandma Pitt’s cabin.
From 1999-2002, Tatianna was blessed with the loves of her life, her brothers, Taye, Thaiden, and Thatcher. She helped her mother raise her brothers and was viewed as a loving second mother to them. You could always find Tatianna proudly on the sidelines of many sporting events as her brothers’ biggest fan. They all shared a love of basketball and created many memories together on the court.
Tatianna graduated in 2007 from Polson High School, where she was beloved and made lifelong friendships. During her high school career, she excelled in volleyball and basketball. In 2005 and 2006 she helped her team win back-to-back divisional championships in basketball and was always proud to be a Lady Pirate. After high school, she attended Salish and Kootenai College and was working towards her nursing degree.
Life had different plans for Tatianna when the first love of her life was born, her first daughter, Zailee Hewankorn on Oct. 2, 2008. She then welcomed her second surprise love, Brooklyn Hewankorn, on Sept. 27, 2010. Together with Zailee and Brooklyn, she often referred to them as “three best friends.” Her daughters were the center of her life and she took every opportunity to spend quality time and make long-lasting memories with them. From beach vacations in Cabo to watching sporting events via facetime from the hospital, Tatianna never missed an opportunity to show up for her girls. She was so proud of the women they are becoming and loved to support them and encourage them to be the best they can be. When they were together, there was always an abundance of affection, laughter and love.
Tatianna was a resilient and strong woman and overcame many years of addiction through her own hard work and the love and support of her family. Her final wake up call to her path of recovery was the birth of the third love of her life, McKinlee Gray, on Jan. 18, 2019. She often would say that Kinlee saved her life. She entered the Mom’s Program through the Oasis Center in Medford, Oregon, under the guidance of and expertise of Dr. Kerri Hecox. This became a turning point in her life, and she was so thankful for the bond she made with Dr. Hecox because it gave her a new direction and passion in her life. She dedicated her career and schooling to help other mother’s turn their lives around and enter recovery. Her own story was so powerful and inspired so many to begin their own path to healing.
After her diagnosis, Tatianna faced every treatment and procedure with the utmost bravery and resiliency. Tatianna’s magnetic and inspiring personality forged a newfound and lifelong friendship with her PA, Nancy Duncan. During her admission in Salt Lake City, she walked alongside Tatianna through every treatment, victory and heartache for the rest of her life. She always had a grateful heart for her medical teams, despite going through the toughest battle of her life.
During her hospitalizations and chemotherapy treatments, she not only maintained her strict workout regimen, she continued to excel as a fulltime 4.0 student. She continued to be hard-working and dedicated to improving herself even though her diagnosis gave her every reason not to. She was a fighter in every sense of the word. She was so proud of her accomplishments and was awarded the outstanding student of the year in Human Services this Spring at Rogue Community College by her professors Manny Pacheco and Curt Erickson. In June of this year, she will be honored with two Associate of Science degrees in Human Services from RCC and Southern Oregon University.
Tatianna’s personality and spirit continually lit up every room that she was in. She was truly one of a kind. She will always be remembered and loved by all those that knew her. She was so grateful for the constant love and support of her mother, Amy, and proudly referred to her as her hero. Tatianna took solace in the fact that her legacy will continue to live on with her three beautiful daughters, Zailee, Brooklyn and McKinlee. She loved them with her entire being and was forever proud to be their mother. Tatianna’s mother’s sentiment will forever and always be true about Tatianna: “To know her is to love her.”
Her funeral service will be held at New Life Church in Polson on Thursday, June 8, at 6 p.m. Please join us in celebrating her beautiful life.
