Donald A. Heath Jr.

Donald Austin Heath, Jr., 85, passed away peacefully on Wednesday January 24th at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Born in Cambridge, MA to the late Col. Donald A. Heath Sr. and Eleanore (Drummond) Heath, he grew up in Wellesley, MA. He graduated from Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH. Don received his Bachelor's Degree from Babson College and a Masters Degree from Springfield College. After working in the petroleum marketing field with Texaco & Citgo for many years, Don became a teacher in the Somers, CT Public School System where he stayed until his retirement. Don was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins. Don's greatest joy was being with his 4 children & 12 grandchildren and taking them clamming on the Brewster Flats of Cape Cod. Don was a resident of East Longmeadow since 1961. He was a former Vice President for the EL Jaycees; Director & Coach for the EL Recreation Association where he could often be seen in the early hours of the morning spraying water on the ice rink in the center of town & coached PeeWee Hockey. Don was a coach for EL Little League Baseball & Softball; Advisor for Boy Scout Troop 275; Treasurer of the EL Conservation Commission. As of late he volunteered for the EL Senior Center delivering Meals on Wheels and monitoring basketball games for ELRA. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Nancy J. (Lutz) Heath of East Longmeadow; his four devoted children: Michael Heath of Virginia Beach, David Heath and his wife Betsy of Pittsfield, MA, Deborah Heath-Rogers and her husband Paul of Peterborough, NH and Cheryl Cannone and her husband David of Bedford, NH; twelve adored grandchildren: Ben, Emily, Juli, Kelly, David, Joseph, Hannah, Emma, Kate, Caitlyn, David and Nick; three great-grandchildren; his sister-in-law, Gail Heath of Pennsylvania and by several nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, John "Jack" Heath and by his daughter-in-law, Victoria Heath. The family wishes to thank the many doctors and staff at Dana Farber for their care and compassion, especially Dr. Jennifer Brown and Dr. Tammy Hshieh. A Celebration of Don's Life will be announced at a later date. Forastiere Smith Funeral and Cremation is entrusted with the arrangements. Memorial donations may be made in Don's memory to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline Place West 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445-7226.