John Emory Heath

(1941 – 2022)

John E. Heath passed away May 16, 2022 at his Washington, DC residence after a long illness. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Hai-Ping, his sister Helen Jones, and brother Ray Heath. John was 80 years old.

John was born October 16, 1941 to Frances Ray Barnwell Heath and Raymond Alonzo Heath in Columbus County, North Carolina. His father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army. John graduated from Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia and received his Bachelor’s degree from the College of Design, North Carolina State University in 1964. Subsequently, he received his Master’s of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan in 1971. He also was a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in 1974.

John enlisted in the US Navy in 1966 and participated in the Vietnam conflict. In Vietnam, he worked with two Naval Construction Regiments in Da Nang. He served in the Navy for 22 years and received numerous awards, including the Navy Commendation Medal (3 awards), Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Navy “E” Ribbon, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and Combat Action Ribbon. He also received many citation awards from the Republic of Vietnam.

John’s posts include: Operations Officer, Naval Security Group; Facilities Planning and Programming Officer; Executive Officer, Naval Construction Forces; and Staff Civil Engineer. At the National Naval Medical Center, John was responsible for a $70 million design project to build the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He retired in 1988 with the rank of Commander, where his last assignment was with the National Security Agency (NSA/CSS).

After retirement, he worked for MK Construction on international projects. He also served as President of the Board of Directors at Harbour Square, Washington, DC where he lived for more than 20 years.

John was an accomplished watercolor artist and loved travel (especially cruises) and fine dining. He and Hai-Ping spent several enjoyable retirement years in their house in Kona, Hawaii.

Funeral arrangements have yet to be determined.