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Heath Dillard Obituary
October 11, 1933 - March 26, 2024
Heath Dillard, a distinguished historian and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, died on March 26, 2024, after a brief illness.
Born on October 11, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio, Heath was raised in Ohio and Charlottesville, Virginia. She graduated from the George School and Vassar College, where she was awarded the Brownell Prize in History and was Phi Beta Kappa. After raising four children, Heath pursued advanced studies at the University of Virginia, earning both a master's degree and a PhD. Her dissertation was later published by Cambridge University Press as "Daughters of the Reconquest: Women in Castilian Town Society, 1100-1300".
In 1979, she moved to New York City with her beloved husband, Michael Perna, where she continued her research and writing while embracing city life. Heath's passion for medieval history led her to a remarkable career as an independent research historian. She was recognized for her groundbreaking work on medieval Spanish women with grants from the Tinker Foundation, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Heath enjoyed reading, knitting sweaters for her family, shopping at Bergdorf Goodman and cheering on her beloved Yankees.
Heath is survived by her husband, Michael Perna; her brother, David Dillard and his wife Anna-Karin of Santa Fe, New Mexico; her children, Stephen Carpenter and his wife Kathy, David Carpenter and Laura Carpenter and her partner James Neligan of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Polly Carpenter and her husband George Perkins of Cambridge, Massachusetts; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Services in New York and Charlottesville have been held.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Heath Dillard
1 Entry
David Rubin
March 2, 2025
Michael,
My condolences to you and yours on the passing of Heath, whom you always spoke of with love and admiration. I wish that I had known her. I hope that everyone close to her, especially you, are well and bearing up after this loss.
The news reminded me of our delightful friendship at the beginning of our careers, a connection I have missed poignantly and reproach myself for failing to keep up after you moved away. I hope that it is not too late to recapture our rare complicity and camaraderie.
David
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