Larry Heath

Larry ("Pa") Heath, 73, of Chenango Bridge went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer and his loving family by his side.

Larry was born in Binghamton, NY on September 19th, 1943 to the late Royce Milo and Lelia (Jenks) Heath, and grew up in Port Crane, NY. Along with his parents, he was predeceased by his step-father, Seth Wright, his brothers Rodney and Dennis Heath, his sister-in-law Mary (Gifford) Heath, father-in-law Carl Pangburn, his grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles.

He is survived by his wife and best friend, Cheryl (Pangburn) Heath; his daughters and son-in-laws Shannon (John) Gawronski, Irene (Henry) DeJager, Heather (Adrian) Newkirk and Tanya (Paul) Yahner. His beautiful grandchildren; Erin, Gabe & Katie Gawronski, Trevor, Haley & Luke DeJager, Emma & Zoe Newkirk and Payton, Abilene, Mia & Madelyn Yahner. Larry is also survived by his mother-in-law Leatrice Pangburn, his sister and brother-in-law Gladys (Robert) Gould, sister-in-law Bev Heath and many aunts, cousins, nieces & nephews.

From a young age, Larry had a passion for and great talent in athletics. This led him to be one of the few people who can say they earned 16 Varsity letters (4 years of varsity sports in football, basketball, baseball and track) upon graduation from Chenango Forks High School and went on to be invited to try out for the NY Yankee baseball team. This passion of sports carried throughout his adult life as he played many years of baseball, softball, bowling, tennis and golf. He also became a very successful ASA Girls Softball coach - leading many teams to compete and place nationally.

Larry was also a car and motorcycle enthusiast. He was quite a “wheeler and dealer” of vehicles, getting to know every car salesman in the local counties. He spent many hours of his life riding the countryside on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

As important as vehicles & sports always were to Larry, his true purpose in life was to protect and care for his family - he was the one we all turned to for encouragement, praise, support, words of wisdom, honesty and most of all LOVE! Everyone close to Larry appreciated his wit, his sense of humor and his drive to “coach” us all through life.

Larry had such an impact on whomever he met. He was a “doctor”, a “therapist”, a “coach” and a “mentor”. Larry enjoyed nothing more than to be surrounded by family. He will be truly missed by all who knew him and will live forever in our hearts. Rest in peace.

The family would like to give thanks to Dr. Amy Kim, Dr. Christos Georgiades from Johns Hopkins Medicine; Lourdes Hospice Care and especially Dr. Pranava Ganesh from UHS Primary Care for the relentless and compassionate care.

A funeral service for Larry will be held at 4:00 pm on Monday, November 21, 2016, at the Berean Bible Church, 109 County Rd. 2, Greene, NY, where the Rev. Chuck Reppard, will officiate. Family and friends may greet the immediate family at the church from 1:00 pm until the time of the service. Burial will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at Chenango Valley Cemetery in Binghamton, officiated by Dean Jenks, cousin “brother” of Larry.