Clark Wright Heath Jr.

1933 - 2025

HEATH - Dr. Clark Wright Heath Jr., 92, of Woodbine, Ga., died Nov. 18, 2025.
Dr. Heath was born Jan, 24, 1933, in Leipzig, Germany, as his father had accepted a medical fellowship several months prior. The family observed conditions deteriorate as Hitler came to power Jan. 30, 1933. The Heaths assisted several Jewish physicians escape. Dr. Clark Heath Sr. and Katherine White Heath returned to Dedham, Mass., where brother, Everett, and sister, Emily, soon arrived.
Clark attended The Roxbury Latin School, Oberlin College and Johns Hopkins Medical School. Trained in internal medicine and hematology, Clark served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in 1960 at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, staying on as epidemiologist for the next 26 years as captain in the Public Health Service. Clark established the Leukemia and Birth Defects Programs, expanding to become the Chronic Disease Division.
While at CDC, Clark and Janet married, raising three children Tom, Andrew and Mary. Clark served three years as epidemiologist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, returning to Atlanta for 10 years as Vice President of Epidemiology with the American Cancer Society.
In 1999, Clark and Janet moved to Hiroshima, Japan, working at the Radiation Effects Research Facility for the U.S. and Japan's long-term follow-up of atomic bomb survivors. Returning to Woodbine, a member of the Woodbine Lions Club, Clark volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, the Coastal Health Medical Reserve Corps and served with the Gateway Behavioral Health Services from 2007-20. Clark played cello with the Coastal Georgia Community Orchestra and was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Woodbine. Clark worked to establish the Woodbine Public Library Inc. and LEAD Woodbine Partners, an endowment fund for the library.
Dr. Heath is survived by his wife of 55 years, Janet Lee Heath of Woodbine; daughter, Dr. Mary Heath (Nick Roberts) of Monteagle, Tenn.; sons, Tom Heath of Colorado Springs and Andrew Heath of Woodbine; brother, Everett Heath of Hawaii; sister, Emily Wilson of Fairfax, Va.; and grandchildren, Dylan Heath, William Roberts and Jack Roberts.
Besides his parents, Dr. Heath was preceded in death by his sister, Martha Wiencke.
Memorial contributions will be accepted at the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation LEAD Woodbine Partners Inc. Fund, PO Box 2463, Brunswick, GA, 31521, for the perpetual endowment of the Woodbine Public Library.