Noblesville’s Irv Heath to be Inducted into Military Hall of Fame
The late Noblesville resident Irving Heath will be inducted into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame on Friday at The Garrison on Old Fort Harrison in Lawrence.
I remember how Marilyn Heath was always so proud of her dad’s patriotism and civic dedication.
Irving Maxwell Heath was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, 4th Armored Division, 35th Battalion under Gen. Omar Bradley and Gen. George S. Patton.
She once shared with me a letter from retired 100-year-old Brig. Gen. Alvin F. Irzyk, who fought in World War II in the 8th Tank Battalion adjacent to Irving Heath, and they had been friends ever since. He talked of how her dad was a hero and a true member of the greatest generation. It brought tears to her eyes.
Her father, the late Irving Maxwell Heath — who lived Oct. 15, 1918, to Dec. 22, 2016, to the amazing age of 98 — will be among 15 Hoosier veterans to be inducted on Friday into the 2022 class of the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame at The Garrison on Old Fort Harrison in Lawrence.
Heath is among five Hoosier veterans from Hamilton County who also will be inducted into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame: James L. Bauerle of Carmel, Robert Nester of Carmel, George W. Stavropoulos of Fishers and Catherine P. Winslow of Carmel.
The Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame is a nonprofit that honors veterans for their military service achievements and community contributions, according to the Hall of Fame.
Irving Heath, born in Somerville, Mass., grew up in Worcester, Mass., and graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, where he met Rachel Waltz of Arcadia. They were married Sept. 5, 1942, during his four-day leave from the U.S. Army.
They moved here in 1946 and joined the Noblesville First United Methodist Church. The Heaths lived in the same house at 1811 Conner St., in Old Town Noblesville for more than 60 years. They had three children, including Marilyn Heath, Ann Heath Gray, who died in 2013, and Ralph “Al” Heath, plus six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Rachel, a retired school teacher, died in 2010, after 68 years of marriage.
Irving Heath was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, 4th Armored Division, 35th Battalion under Gen. Omar Bradley and Gen. George S. Patton.
Irving Heath loved Noblesville and being involved in the community. He was a community activist. Even after he turned 80, Irving was involved in more community activities than the average citizen.
When he retired in 1981 from 32 years in the insurance business, he celebrated by getting his real-estate license and worked as a Realtor for another 12 years, retiring again in 1995.
Even after that, he kept his office in downtown Noblesville, where he saved personal community relics, which he talked about in a Daily Ledger newspaper article that I found from the year 2000, the same year that he was grand marshal of the Noblesville Fourth of July parade.
His office on South Ninth Street he called the “memorabilia room.” A bookshelf had 30 three-ring binders of U.S. Commemorative stamps he collected, and scrapbooks filled with photos of him during the war. A wall map marked the route his 4th Armored Division traveled in the war. He had a collection of Cresson & Heath insurance calendars that he sent his clients dating back to the 1940s, and an elephant collection to celebrate being a member of the Republican Party of which he was precinct chairman for 18 years. He had two filing cabinets jam packed with items he’d saved from the nonprofits that he was involved, including Noblesville Lions Club, American Legion Post 45, Cancer Service of Hamilton County of which he helped start in 1986, Boys & Girls of Noblesville, of which he was a founder in 1950, the Masonic Temple and Hamilton County Historical Society. A Belfry Theatre season ticket holder, he also saved every program since the theater started in 1965.
He was a Sagamore of the Wabash recipient, and he was a member for 20 years of Noblesville Adult Swim Team Inc.
Heath was all about faith, freedom and family. And was proud to have served his country in the military.
Contact me at betsy@thetimes24-7.com. Tickets to the ceremony are at imvhof.com/events-2/. A full list of the 15 inductees is published online at thetimes24-7.com. Also, read about the Vietnam Veterans and Korea Veterans upcoming 9-11 a.m. Nov. 5 open house at Noblesville Township Community Center in today’s edition of The Times.