His Life, His StoryLt. Colonel Stanley N. Heath (Ret.)

May 23, 1962 – July 3, 2022

Early Years

Stanley Neal Heath (Stan) was born on May 23, 1962, in Augusta, GA., to his loving parents George and Ann Heath. They had two boys, Jimmy and Stanley, and Stan was the baby of the family. He cared deeply for his parents all his life and never had a negative word to say about their homelife or parenting. 

Stan appreciated his upbringing in Augusta, GA. He had a happy childhood with a solid foundation that promoted a strong work ethic and solid core values. He attended the local schools, went to church, bagged groceries at the store, and like most young boys in the south spent some time mowing grass to help elderly neighbors and to save some money. Stan enjoyed sharing stories about his life growing up in Augusta, like how he played marbles, walked to the local 7-11 convenience store to buy comic books, and went to the movies with his cousins.

United States Military Academy West Point

After high school Stan attended The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He demonstrated the desire to serve his country, was physically fit, and met West Point's academic requirements.  

Military Career

Stan began his successful military career on his 22nd birthday on May 23, 1984, when he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant Field Artillery officer.

After attending the officer basic course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma he served in numerous field artillery assignments in 2nd Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division in Germany. Following the officer Advanced Course Stan was assigned to the 7th Infantry Division, Fort Ord, California as a battalion Fire Support Officer. He deployed without warning to Panama for Operation Just Cause in 1989. Upon his return Stan took command of A Battery, 6th Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, one of the first units in the U.S. Army to field the British M119 105mm howitzer. Following the assignment at Fort Ord, Stan excelled at the challenging role of commanding the Providence Recruiting Company in Rhode Island from 1992-1995.  It was during this assignment that he realized he was a natural at duties supporting public affairs.

Stan’s first public affairs assignment was with the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs in the Pentagon. In 1996 as an Army staff officer, he conducted two media escort missions to Bosnia and served on the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee. Following his attendance at the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, Stan served in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks as the 25th Infantry Division Artillery Plans Officer, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Operations Officer and Division Public Affairs Officer. He also served at Fort Shafter as the U.S. Army Pacific Public Affair Officer prior to leaving Hawaii in 2001. From 2001-2004, Stan was assigned to the U.S. Army Personnel Command (later Human Resources Command). During that time, he was also temporarily assigned as the Army G-1 Public Affairs Officer for four and a half months during the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Somehow during this time Stan also completed his Master's degree from Central Michigan University.

Lieutenant Colonel Stanley N. Heath arrived at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the Deputy Public Affairs officer in July 2004. He deployed to Iraq to serve in the Gulf Region Division.

His Family

In 1986 Stan married his love and life partner, Amie Weinberg. They have been married for 36 years. Stan wanted two children: one for each hand, and he was blessed with his daughter Lauren and son Jordan. He loved being a husband and a father, devoted and committed to his family. As Lauren and Jordan have become adults Stan enjoyed just being with them, cooking on the grill or walking the dogs together. It was a joy for him to install flooring in their homes or to help with a broken washing machine; Stan just wanted to express his love by doing and being with his family, as well as by telling them how much he loved them.  

Military Retirement / New Career

In 2006, Lt. Col. Heath decided to retire after 23 years of military service to his country. Stan continued to serve his country by starting a new career for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Public Affairs as the Chief Planner for Incident Communications. He assisted with exercise planning and coordinating public affairs participation with Federal communicators. He has been involved in public affairs efforts for numerous incidents and deployments to include the Deepwater Horizon response effort in Louisiana, Hurricane Ike in Texas, flooding in Wisconsin and two Presidential Inaugurations. Stan was zealous in maintaining key rosters of federal, state, and local communicators: the National Incident Communications Conference Line (NICCL), and the State Incident Communications Conference Line (SICCL).  Stan's job was always more than a way to earn money, and he took on his role at DHS with the understanding that he continued to serve his country even without his military uniform.

The Man

Lt. Col. Stanley N. Heath always said he was just a simple guy, meaning he didn’t need much in life as long as he had his family around him. Stan loved to be around people… and everyone loved to be around him too. Stan never met a stranger and made everyone he met feel comfortable and welcome. He was the kind of man that waved down the garbage truck guys to give them a soda or icy cold water on a hot day. He had a dynamic personality and took great joy in the little things in life, spreading positivity and kindness to everyone he met.

Stan stayed active throughout his life: he was an avid runner, running numerous marathons and half marathons – but only those that awarded medals! After living in military quarters most of his adult life, he expressed himself through home improvements in the house he and Amie purchased together in 2001.  He also stumbled upon a hobby making plant shelves and other objects with upcycled wood, and he made a few dollars selling them inexpensively.  Stan became a caregiver of the environment who wanted to leave the Earth in good shape for his future grand and great-grandchildren.  He was quite bothered by the ubiquitous discord and contention related to political and social stances and desperately hoped people could embrace each other and accept differences rather than spreading negativity and hatred.  

Stan was a man of integrity. He believed in hard work. Thousands of people in the military and government knew him as LT. Col. Stan Heath, a dependable, detail-oriented man dedicated to serving his country, his family, his neighbors, his colleagues, and his friends. Wherever you met him, you quickly knew him as the most genuine, humble man you’d ever meet.  Stan Heath was a mensch.

About Our Father

Our Dad did many great things at home, in his career, in the military, but we’re most proud of the person who he was. Our dad valued relationships and made them a priority by staying connected and even just picking up the phone and telling someone, “hi.” He would describe himself as a simple and humble guy. He had quite a few admirable attributes, including a welcoming demeanor, dedicated mentor to young professionals, and a friend to all, caring about others and mission first. We are forever grateful to our dad for the greatest example of everything that was good, honest, and true!

Mission Accomplished

Lt. Col. Heath demonstrated the character facet goals of a great United States West Point leader throughout his life:

Moral: Internalization of the Army Values that results in the knowledge, integrity, and awareness to assess the moral-ethical aspects of every situation and the personal courage to take appropriate action regardless of consequences.

Civic: Demonstrates the empathy, loyalty, respect, and humility that enable an individual to treat others with dignity and to display selflessness.

Social: Acts with proper decorum in all professional, social, and online environments.

Performance: Possesses the sense of duty, resilience, and grit necessary to accomplish the mission and get results.

Leadership: Establishes a safe, positive command climate where everyone thrives while achieving results.

Stan, Well Done.

You can find more about Stan and make a donation in honor of Stan at  https://about.teamrwb.org/

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