Halie-Ann Rex Scholarship Fund

Halie Ann Rex, age 26, passed away Friday, October 17, 2024. Halie Ann was involved in a motor vehicle accident when the bicycle she was riding was struck by a car on Saturday, October 12, 2024 in Johnson City, TN. She was an organ donor, and her organs were donated to save four lives. Halie was born in Morristown, TN on September 7, 1998. She was raised in the tight-knit community of Baneberry, TN. Halie attended White Pine Elementary School K-8 and graduated from Jefferson County High School in 2017. The friendships she made during that time as a student and soccer player were ones she cherished and held close to her heart even when she was thousands of miles away. After high school she went on to graduate with her bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga in 2021. After graduating, she continued to work with Parkridge Valley Hospital as a Mental Health Technician. There she worked with children as an educator, mentor, and clinician. She was a bright, adventurous spirit and she loved life! Halie Ann knew she wanted more from life and moved to Salida, Colorado in 2022 to work as a Youth Crew Leader with the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC), an organization with a mission to preserve the natural environment while fostering personal development and responsibility.

Halie Ann became a talented sawyer and eventually led as a Fire Mitigation Crew Leader. She deeply loved her work, crew, colleagues, and friends in Salida. Halie Ann was always trying new things. She learned to roller skate and joined a roller derby team, picked up fly fishing, outdoor rock climbing, trail running, and cycling. She climbed 13 mountains over 14,000 feet in the Sawatch Range in Colorado, including Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in the Rockies. She spent warm days boating on the Arkansas River with her friends and nights listening to live music in the park. Following her service with the SCC, Halie Ann became certified as an English as a second language instructor and accepted a short-term position in Villafranca Tirrena, Sicily where she taught English to students both young and old. After her time in Villafranca, she spent time in the Valle del Corvo, working on a farm in the Sicilian mountainside before spending Christmas in Ireland with a friend from her time in Colorado.

Her final summer was spent working for the Appalachian Mountain Club in western Massachusetts, where she worked as a Trail Crew Leader developing trails in the northern Appalachian region and along the coast. She fell in love with the region and expressed a desire to settle there one day. While she was working for the AMC, she applied for and was accepted into the graduate program for Family and Community Sciences at ETSU. She was also hired as an Outdoor Graduate Assistant. Upon receiving her Master’s Degree, she had plans to continue with conservation and had a passion for helping young adults with behavioral disorders. Halie Ann woke up every day and asked herself: “Who am I? Why do I exist? What did I learn today?” She did not take life for granted and refused to be complacent with her days on Earth. She lived true to herself. She lived deliberately. Her work was to love the world. So it goes.

Halie was preceded in death by her grandfather, Robert “Bob” Stevens. She leaves behind her grandmothers, Sally Stevens, Jody Kyce, and Mary Rex; her grandfather, Jerry Rex. She also leaves behind her mother, Julie Rex; her father, Steve Rex; and her beloved brother, Jacob Rex; half-sister, Charlee Ann Barton; Halie Ann’s Aunts, Uncles and Cousins are too many to mention but all will deeply miss Halie Ann and hearing about her latest adventures.

*UPDATE* Thank you to everyone who has already generously donated! We have reached our initial goal of $25,000 to establish an endowment honoring Halie-Ann! This milestone marks the beginning of something truly impactful and will support students now and for generations to come. This is just the start. The more we grow the endowment, the greater the impact we can have. Thank you for helping us honor a special young lady!

Contributions to this scholarship may be mailed to:

Attn: ETSU Advancement ETSU Foundation PO Box 70721 Johnson City, TN 37614

Please make checks payable to the ETSU Foundation and note “Halie-Ann Rex Award” on the memo line.