Obituary of Donald L. Heath

Donald Lee "Big Daddy" Heath, 77, of Cortland, NY, passed away on June 10th, 2024 in Sayre, PA, surrounded by his wife and son. The family will be available to receive friends on Saturday, June 22nd from 2-4pm at Wright Beard Funeral Home, 9 Lincoln Ave., Cortland NY 13045, with a funeral service immediately following at 4pm. Don was born in Cortland, NY on May 4th,1947 to Eugene Elmer Heath and Martha Stark (Smith) Heath. Don attended both Homer and Marathon High Schools. He was drafted into the Army at the age of 20 and proudly served his country in the Vietnam conflict. He then began working for Stephens' Auction Service, where he was loved by all the customers and an integral part of the business. This is where he gained his love for auctions and antiques. He worked at a few local factories over the years, retiring from Marietta Corporation after working in their warehouse for 28 years. However, he only stayed retired for one year before returning to work at Marietta Corporation to work for another 8 years. Don was currently employed by Crown Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, where he worked in the food service department. In the 1980's and 90's, he was a member of the Cortland County Auxiliary police, based in Marathon, NY. In his younger days, Don enjoyed hunting, fishing, going for walks in the woods, and just being outside in nature. Not only did he love being in nature himself, but he also enjoyed watching National Geographic and Nature programs on TV, with his favorite episodes being the ones when the lions and hyenas would fight at night. Don always enjoyed going to auctions and liked to dabble in buying/selling antiques. He enjoyed going to many of the local casinos with his wife, Susan. Don loved to watch many different sports on TV, with his favorite team being the New York Yankees. He would often talk about getting to see Mickey Mantle play at Yankee Stadium. He was always very proud of his son and grandsons, and those that knew him would frequently hear him speaking highly of them. He loved to go and support his son and grandsons at all their school events, from awards ceremonies, to sporting events, to concerts – he wanted to be there for all of them. He was always quick witted and liked to tell jokes and make people laugh. You could always find him teasing and joking with the wait staff at local diners and would frequently hear him ask for diet YooHoo when they asked him for his drink order – knowing full well that they didn't have that on their menu. You would often hear him say "Did I tell you the one about….?", right before he started telling a joke. Don is survived by his wife of 55 years, Susan Heath (Wyatt), of Cortland, NY, his son and daughter-in-law, Donald "Zeb" Heath (Kathy), of Taylor, NY, two grandsons, Joshua Heath (Amanda) of East Syracuse, NY and Justin Heath (fiancé Kaley) of Liverpool, NY, his siblings, Charles Heath (Connie) of Trumansburg, NY, Sylvia Schnoover of Texas, Arlene Stephens of Marathon, NY, Eugene Heath of Penn Yan, NY, John Heath (Shirley) of East Freetown, NY, Dale Heath (Jaynie) of Marathon, NY, Alice Miller (Roland) of Texas Valley, NY, Marshall Heath of St. Louis, MO, and Sherry Bumgarner (Ron) of Bakersfield, CA. He is also survived by many Nieces and Nephews, whom he loved very much. He was preceded in death by his father Elmer, his mother Martha, his brother Oscar, brothers-in-law Albert Stephens, William Schnoover, and Robert Miller, and sister-in-law Patricia (Whitbeck) Heath. Don was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle who will be greatly missed by all that had the pleasure to meet him.