Kathryn Elizabeth Heath

Kathryn Elizabeth (Stouffer) Heath WASHINGTON, D.C. January 21, 1920 - December 14, 2010 Kathryn Elizabeth (Stouffer) Heath died on Dec. 14, 2010, at the age of 90. She had been a resident of the Mountain View area of Bluff City, Tenn., for some 50 years. She is survived by a brother; two children; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Kay was very active in the community and was known for her kindness and generosity. As a registered nurse, she was a volunteer at the Veterans Hospital in Johnson City for more than 30 years. Her husband, Calvin, who died 10 years ago, retired as an executive from Univac in Bristol. Kay was born on Jan. 21, 1920, in Hagerstown, Md., to Earl D. and Ruth G. (Toms) Stouffer. Earl was head of business operations for the Western Maryland Railroad. Kay's formative years were during the Great Depression. She had an incredibly inquisitive mind and adventuresome spirit. She graduated from Hagerstown High school in 1937 and from Washington County Hospital School for Nurses in 1940. On the eve of World War II, Kay was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Following initial training, she was sent to Panama to serve at the Army Hospital in the Canal Zone. It was there that she met Lt. Calvin Heath of North Woodstock, N.H. They were married in a full military wedding in 1942. Regulations at the time required Kay to resign her commission. After the tour in Panama, Cal was sent into combat in Germany with the 26th Division to help liberate Europe. Their first child, Kay, was born while Cal was overseas. At the end of the war, Kay joined Cal in Austria, where they lived for two years. By then they had decided the Army would be their career. The next 20 years included another child, Ralph; 10 moves across the country; and many amazing experiences. Following the Army career, Kay and Cal had two more "careers," first with corporate America and finally as farmers in Tennessee. Over the years Kay served as a volunteer nurse, devoting more than 40,000 hours of service through the American Red Cross and the Veterans Administration. Kay had the personality, skill and ability to do just about anything. She could be the consummate host of scientists who launched the first U.S. satellite, an able assistant to the chief psychiatrist of a VA hospital, a midwife to beef cattle, an electrician or an accomplished bridge player holding her own with grand masters. She was an avid reader and learned to surf the internet at the age of 80. Kay was at ease with anyone from Army generals in dress blues, to corporate CEOs in three-piece suits to tobacco farmers in Jack Rabbit overalls. She knew no strangers, and left a positive mark on the world through her kindness and compassion, always tending to the needs of others before her own. She was deeply grounded in her Christian faith and stood up for equality of all people everywhere, long before it was fashionable to do so. It was not so much what she said but what she did and how she lived her life. Kay loved her family and was proud of them all. She also loved life and gave back much more than she received. Although she is sorely missed, there is no doubt the world is better place because of Kathryn Elizabeth Heath. Suggested memorials are: Kathryn Stouffer Heath Registered Nurse Scholarship, c/o Hagerstown Community College Foundation, Inc., 11400 Robinwood Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21742-6590; or Calvin and Kathryn Heath Scholarship Fund, c/o University of New Hampshire Foundation, Inc., 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824-1934