We ask each of our guests a simple yet profound question: "Whose life story from your own family would you most want to have documented on film?"
Today's guest: Kristen Heaney, Founder of In Three Generations
Kristen's pick: Her mother, Janice Thompson.
Sound Bites
- "I've had a lot of opportunities to talk about my dad because of his success, but rarely about my mom."
- "If you can have a beautiful death, my mom had one."
- "There’s a gravitational pull to tell the story of the wealth creator, but families lose something when they only focus there."
Summary
In this deeply moving episode of Who We Remember, Jamie Yuenger interviews Kristen Heaney, who shares the profound legacy of her mother—a woman defined by her relentless love, faith, and quiet yet impactful contributions to her family and community. Kristen reflects on how her mother, often overshadowed by the attention given to her father, a successful business owner, profoundly shaped Kristen’s understanding of love, purpose, and spiritual capital.
The conversation explores the challenges and beauty of honoring and carrying forward her mother’s legacy, especially after losing her to Alzheimer's in 2021. Kristen recounts stories of her mother’s selfless acts, from taking in friends in need to praying for strangers. These small yet powerful gestures exemplified her mother’s ethos: love is an active, intentional force in the world. Kristen also reflects on the "beautiful death" her mother experienced, surrounded by a loving community and moments of spiritual clarity that continue to guide her. The episode highlights the often-overlooked stories of women within family legacies and the importance of documenting their roles to create a more balanced narrative for future generations. This episode inspires listeners to rethink whose stories are told and challenges families to celebrate the quiet heroes who form the heart of their legacies.
About Kristen
Kristen offers consulting to families with significant resources, helping them focus on what matters most: relationships, continuity, personal growth, values, and purpose. Kristen is deeply passionate about this work, drawing from her own experience of inheriting wealth at a young age after her father’s early death. With a background in social work and life coaching, she leads In Three Generations, where she provides peer-group education and individual coaching services.
Takeaways
- The Value of Quiet Contributions in a Family Legacy.
- The Power of Relational Priorities.
- Lessons from a Beautiful Death.
Join Us
Visit us at storykeep.com/podcast to learn more about how StoryKeep is preserving family histories. Subscribe on your favorite platform to catch new episodes released bi-weekly, available in both audio and video formats.
Join me, Jamie Yuenger, as we go on a journey of remembrance and discovery, celebrating the stories of those we cherish. Don’t miss our enriching journey—subscribe today and be part of "Who We Remember."
Credits
Produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa. You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here