A retired Gimli couple is sparking connections with locals and visitors from afar thanks to a mural that carries a special story — one that has become a healing force not only for them but for others walking through their doors.
Inside Harbour Ink Gimli, the custom apparel print shop and boutique opened by Ana and Tony Herntier, a large mural painted by artist Lizanne Laurin greets visitors with a pair of pointe shoes and an emotional written tribute. The artwork was created in honour of the Herntiers’ granddaughter, Gracie, whose memory is woven into every corner of the shop.
Harbour Ink opened on May 16, 2025, fulfilling Tony’s longtime wish to own a business. Ana says the shop was also meant to be a welcoming place — somewhere people can talk, share, connect and heal.
Herntier says the mural has brought in other parents who are mourning the loss of their children, sparking conversations and igniting a whole lot of love for the past, present and future.
“It’s been a healing force for both myself and the parents who have come in. We share stories; we talk about our kids. … It’s just been very healing for us,” she said.
The mural reads:
Gracie Herntier
June 19, 2006 – March 16, 2014
Harbour Ink Gimli is a tribute to our little girl, Gracie, who tragically passed away at 7 years of age. Her beautiful essence was a privilege to those who met her.
She was Generous, Respectful, Affectionate, Cuddly, Intuitive and Energetic. She will be missed by those who Love her.
Keep Dancing Baby Girl!
While the mural is now a gathering place for shared grief and connection, its story begins more than a decade earlier.
The mural –– which depicts the pointe shoes of a young ballerina alongside its touching tribute –– was painted in honour of Ana and Tony Herntier’s granddaughter, Gracie.
In 2014, Gracie passed away at the age of seven. She had been raised by her grandparents and had a remarkable story from the start.
Gracie’s birth mother struggled with addiction, and when Gracie was six months old, she contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and nearly died. She experienced a medical emergency in the local emergency room, where staff worked to revive her for 90 minutes. She was rushed to the Children’s Hospital, and medical professionals feared she would have sustained neurological damage due to going without oxygen for an extended period. But her grandmother made sure staff were giving Gracie a pump of oxygen every 90 seconds and, because of this, no brain damage was found. Gracie spent the next five days on life support but eventually was able to come home.
Her grandparents went through a long process to gain custody, but in time, they were able to call Gracie their own.
“She was one of the happiest little girls you could ever meet,” Ana Herntier said. “She was that type of child everybody fell in love with.”
Ana added that Gracie seemed like a whole new person after her RSV scare.
“When Gracie died and then came back to us, she wasn’t the same child. She never cried; she was our really happy little girl.”
Gracie always had a knack for helping others. At five years old, she came up with the idea to host a garage sale to fundraise for the music program at St. Andrews School, where the instruments were old and broken.
She raised $605 that first year, proudly telling her grandparents, “Next year, we will have an even bigger amount.”
Ana wasn’t sure how she would pull it off — until donations began pouring in.
But six weeks before the second sale, tragedy struck. While visiting a friend for the weekend, Gracie was attacked by two Alaskan Malamutes and died from her injuries.
When Tony — home sick with the flu — answered the phone, he immediately began yelling. Ana, recovering from back surgery, sensed something was terribly wrong.
“I don’t know how, but I managed to put some clothes on and made my way down the stairs. In our minds we thought it would be something like she would need some stitches or maybe plastic surgery, but as soon as I saw her in the ambulance, I said, ‘oh, my girl is gone.’ … There’s always talk about how awful childhood death is, but when it’s your own, it’s completely traumatizing,” she recalled.
Despite their grief, the sale continued, raising $7,000 for St. Andrews School.
The next year, the Herntiers’ home burned down along with all the donations — but the community rallied, filling the St. Andrews Arena with contributions. That sale raised $30,000.
“To be able to raise all of that in just one weekend because of a little girl, is simply amazing,” Herntier said. “This is about a young girl who wanted to make a difference. If a six-year-old can turn this into a $30,000 venture that is just amazing. A lot of work, but seeing the impact is magical.”
Gracie’s legacy lives on in performing arts funding through the Gracie Herntier Fund, supporting the School of Contemporary Dancers and Manitoba Theatre for Young People. A memorial tree, playground monument and citizenship award at St. Andrews School also honour her memory.
Before she passed, Gracie once made a startling request to Ana: “I want you to promise me that when I die, I will go in a box because I have already suffered enough.”
Ana kept her promise.
Gracie also shared a final moment of wisdom with her great-grandfather during his last days, telling him, “You can stop fighting, old papa. … Your pain will be gone and you will be able to dance and sing. Old papa, it’s OK to go.” He passed away the next morning.
“She could build a connection with anyone, whether you were five or 70 years old. … People just gravitated towards her with no worries at all,” Ana said.
Grief, she added, is “a pain that never goes away.”
“We never get past it but we have learned to live with it.”
The Herntiers opened Harbour Ink Gimli to give Tony a new purpose in retirement — and to create a space rooted in kindness and openness.
“If you have a problem, come talk to us and we can work it out,” Ana said. “You don’t even need to buy anything because we are here for you. What I’ve learned is you can either live life and honour what we have or you can crawl in a hole and not live.”
Harbour Ink Gimli is located at 10 Centre St. #118B in the Lakeview Hotel and is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays.
