Rebecca Ord Hirschi, age 49, passed away on Sunday, January 3, 2021 at 1:00pm, surrounded by her loved ones. Born in Seattle, WA on June 12, 1971 to Steven and Linda Ord, Rebecca came to Earth with a love of people, a passion for raising animals, and a strong desire to follow Christ. Her childhood was full of happy days riding ponies bareback through pomegranate orchards, eating peanuts and orange juice, and raising piglets to sell in order to buy her very own horse, For Hire. Rebecca was competitive from a young age and loved to run, competing in cross country and track and field events throughout her high school years. Rebecca also had a love of learning and graduated high school with honors. She was a friend to everyone and was chosen as homecoming queen at her high school in Snohomish, WA. Rebecca's desire to follow Christ was apparent in her childhood and teenage years, as she chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was 8 years old. She frequently memorized passages of scriptures and looked forward to attending church each Sunday with her family. Christ was always at the center of her life as she grew up, and her faith in Him gave her the strength to live a life devoted to serving Him. When she was 21, Rebecca decided to serve an 18-month long service and proselyting mission for The Church of Jesus Christ, and was assigned to serve in Perth, Australia. She eagerly devoted all her time and energy to teaching people of Christ's love and gospel during those 18 months and changed the lives of many. Rebecca attended Brigham Young University, graduating in 1992 with a degree in Youth Leadership, and completing a Masters' Program in Recreation Management in 1995. It was at BYU that Rebecca met the love of her life, David Hirschi. They met at a church service one Sunday after Rebecca had returned home from her mission. One of their first dates was playing racquetball. David invited her to play with him, thinking it would be both fun and an opportunity to impress her. Little did he know that before her mission, Rebecca had tried out for and made the BYU Women's Racquetball team. True to her ever-competitive side, she soundly beat him in every game they played that day. They spent many days playing racquetball, studying in the library, spelunking, and adventuring together as they dated. One day, they climbed a tree on BYU campus together, where David proposed to Rebecca, who joyfully accepted. They were married for time and all eternity in the Logan Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on August 12, 1994. David and Rebecca had 5 children: Sarah, Emma, Martha, Hannah, and Adam. Their adventures with their children took them to Midland, Michigan for most of their married life, where David and Rebecca bought their first home together. In 2005, the family moved to Friendsville, Ohio for a short time where David and Rebecca bought a small hobby farm. Rebecca was thrilled with the prospect of having enough land to have horses and other animals again, and the farm quickly filled with animals. When the family moved back to Midland in 2006, the farm came too. Rebecca found immense joy in teaching her children to care for and love animals and spent many hours working hard alongside David to improve the property. Somehow, Rebecca also found time to train for multiple marathons, serve in volunteer Church positions, reach out to countless individuals when she thought they needed help or a plate of chocolate chip cookies, and homeschool all of her children for several years. She was constantly asking God, "Who needs me today? How can I serve You today?". When the opportunity to move to Bangkok, Thailand came through David's work, Rebecca and David eagerly accepted, and moved overseas with their 5 children, the youngest, Adam, being not even 1 year old. After a year of many new and exciting experiences in Thailand, Rebecca's battle with cancer first began in 2011 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump in her breast. David and Rebecca immediately returned their family to the United States to begin treatment. Just before her diagnosis, Rebecca had qualified for the Boston Marathon. Among her first reactions to her diagnosis was a determination to run and finish the Boston Marathon, come what may. Through months of intense chemotherapy and of radiation treatments, Rebecca trained and prepared to run during the frigid winters of Michigan. Rebecca completed the 2012 Boston Marathon on what is still among the hottest days on record for the race. She never failed to attribute the strength she received to accomplish this incredible feat to her Heavenly Father, a recognition which she never failed to give in any aspect of her life. The treatments were successful in treating her cancer, and the farm adventures continued when the family moved to Meridian, Idaho in 2016. Rebecca loved riding her horse, Misty, walking miles along the canal road behind the Hirschi farm, breeding dappled Boer goats in the barn, and mountain biking with David in the foothills of Boise. In 2017, she started experiencing deep pain in her hips. She attributed it to the miles of running she was still clocking and went to a physical therapist. The pain didn't resolve with treatment, and in early 2018, it was confirmed that the cancer had returned and metastasized throughout the bones in her body. Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a terminal diagnosis for all who receive it, a fact that broke Rebecca's heart. True to character, she placed her faith in the Lord, moved forward, and began planning for how she could help others who are impacted by MBC. Her dream was to raise $1 million for metastatic breast cancer research. Each October, she campaigned to meet that goal by encouraging everyone to walk, run, ride, bike, dance, swim, or move even just one mile, and to donate $1 for each mile. We love and miss Rebecca dearly. We know that she is with Christ and we know that we will see her again. We also know that many of you love and miss Rebecca as well. If you're wondering what you can do to help, please consider donating to Million for Metastatic (millionformetastatic.com) to help us fulfill Rebecca's dream. Link to All-In Podcast Interview with Rebecca: https://www.ldsliving.com/pages/allin-e112-rebecca-hirschi-to-the-finish-line Link to Hirschi Strong Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/hirschistrong Link to Million for Metastatic Website: https://www.millionformetastatic.com Due to COVID-19, the in-person funeral service will be mostly family. We wish we could give each of you hugs and have each of you there with us! The public viewing from 6:00pm - 8:00pm on Friday, January 8th and the graveside service at 2:00pm on Saturday, January 9th are open to all who wish to come. Addresses can be found on the Hirschi Strong Facebook page.
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