William Heath Bishop

Heath fought metastatic colon cancer for 7.5 very long years, and continued to fight with his last breath. Heath is survived by his wife of 8 years Myra Casillas-Bishop, sisters Natalie Hope (Wesley) Goodwin, Victoria Bishop, Laura (Corey) Adicks, brother Rodney Hayden Bishop, and several nieces and nephews whom he loved dearly.

Heath was born to the late Jones William Bishop and the late Hazel Ann Chavis Bishop in Williston, SC and grew up in Orangeburg, SC until he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1993 at MCRD East Coast Parris Island, SC. After basic training, Heath went on to 29 Palms, CA for advanced training as a field radio operator after which he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division at Marine Corps Base, HI. After multiple deployments with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to Okinawa, Japan and to participate in Operation Cobra Gold in Thailand, Heath was selected for the Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon (a Recon & Surveillance Unit within the Battalion). Heath was honorably discharged from the US Marine Corps in 1997 and enlisted in the US Army National Guard. During his time in the US National Guard, Heath was assigned to 20th Special Forces Group Bravo Co., ODA 2335. Heath finally retired from the US Army Reserves as a Major in 2017.

Heath held two graduate degrees; the most recent being an M.P.P with a concentration in Public & Constitutional Law. He authored many published scholarly articles, along with his thesis “An Analysis of Key Failings of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): A Policy Case for the United States Returning to the Pre-JCPOA Strategy of Sanctions and Deterrent Measures to Contain Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons.” His second graduate degree was an M.B.A with a concentration in economics & finance. Additionally, he held an undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina in Mechanical Engineering with focus areas in Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, and Power Plant Theory. Throughout his entire scholarly career, he remained on the Dean’s List with a 4.0 GPA.

Heath was a welder by trade, and enjoyed working on projects with his dad such as fabricating a trailer and a pot for low country boil. He was a tinkerer and could fix or fashion most anything just like his dad taught him. He even started rebuilding a Jeep YJ for his wife. Heath liked to cook, but he loved when family gathered to eat even more. Heath enjoyed fishing in the Edisto river, he loved corny jokes, he loved to take his wife on long car rides with no planned destination, and he loved to learn and explore. In his earlier years, Heath hiked a large part of the Appalachian trail solo. While stationed in Hawaii, he and a few of his platoon buddies ran the Honolulu Marathon without training for it, just to get the weekend leave. Heath loved a challenge, and fought tooth and nail to achieve whatever he put his mind to. When Heath wasn’t attending classes online, or debating on any topic, he was spending time with his family and his beloved dogs Ranger Boy and Tippy Girl.

A graveside memorial will be held at a later date as Heath’s ashes will be buried next to his parents at the family church ruins of the Holiness Public Worship of God, Ellison Estate Rd., Salley, SC.

In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation to cancersupportservices.org in Memory of Heath Bishop.