Obituary: Jonathan Allan Heath

Jonathan Allan Heath, 61, of Greenville, NC, died Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Friends and family are invited to attend a celebration of his life at Gordon Street Christian Church at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 28, 2023, with the Reverend Doug Stokes officiating. After the service, the family will receive friends in the fellowship hall at Gordon Street Christian Church, Kinston, North Carolina.

Jonathan was born on September 12, 1961, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona. He was the son of W. Allan Heath and Joanne May Heath. After graduating from Kinston High School in June of 1980, he attended North Carolina State University and then graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a concentration in finance. Early in his career, Jonathan worked in the mortgage industry. He was an owner and operator of Benchmark Mortgage for a number of years. In 2010, Jonathan joined Coastal Industrial Services where he worked as a project manager and shop supervisor.

A man of many talents, Jonathan could fix a car, a boat, a truck or build a building. He was a gifted athlete in his youth. Jonathan was proud to be a part of a racially diverse Kinston High Football team which united to overcome the adversities of the time. He loved to dance, as well as music. As an adult, Jonathan was an avid boater and fisherman. He cherished times working on a good friend’s charter boat.

Jonathan loved boy scouts and was the 7th scout to receive the rank of Eagle Scout from Gordon Street Christian Church’s Troop 41. Later, he was active as an adult leader with Jarvis Methodist Church’s Troop 30, assisting his son Drake and others, as they advanced and achieved their Eagle Scout awards. Jonathan served informally as a mentor to many young men and others through his work and relationships.

With his quick wit, Jonathan loved to exchange big tales, and particularly enjoyed a strong debate. He was truly a guy’s guy, loyal, fearless, and funny. If you were his friend, you knew it. Jonathan lived life hard, worked hard, and played hard.

But most of all, Jonathan adored spending time at his beloved Neuse River home surrounded by family and friends. In celebration of the Fourth of July, he really enjoyed cooking a pig for friends and neighbors at the River. Jonathan was so proud to be able to walk his daughter, Haley, down the aisle at her wedding in the river yard this past fall and was very much looking forward to the birth of his first grandchild in September.

Jonathan is survived by his wife Lori Rawls Heath; his daughter, Haley Heath Oill, and husband, Matt Oill, of Raleigh, North Carolina; his son, Drake Allan Heath, of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina; his mother, Joanne May Heath of Kinston, North Carolina; his sister, Beth Heath and her husband, Bennett Wynne of Kinston, North Carolina; and his niece, Elizabeth Allan Wynne of Greenville, NC.

Jonathan is preceded in death by his father, W. Allan Heath.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to ECU Health Cancer Care 524 Moye Blvd, Greenville, NC 27834.

Arrangements by Edwards Funeral Home & Cremations. Online condolences may be expressed at www.edwardsfhc.com.