Mr. Orval Dean Heath

October 5, 1931 - March 29, 2022

Orval Dean Heath, age 90, passed away Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was born October 5, 1931, in Heath Valley, Arkansas, to the late Dalt and Edna Parker Heath. Mr. Heath was a minister by profession, receiving 2 doctorate degrees. He enjoyed teaching and coaching at Acorn School and his favorite hobby was hunting deer and turkey, Above all else he loved to preach the gospel. He became an ordained minister in 1960, and for the last 40 years of his career, he was the pastor of the Lakeview Baptist Church until his retirement in 2011. Orval is preceded in death by his parents, Dalt and Edna Parker Heath; brother, David Heath and wife Lois; and by his sisters, Mary Frances Heath, and Elaine Heath Liles and husband Roland. He is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Ladatha Gay Thorn; daughters, Denise Heath Gilchrist and husband Jeff, and Linda Heath; son, Kenny Heath; grandchildren, Tawana Carmack and husband Billy, Jeremy Gilchrist and wife Shelley, and Ladatha Hobson and husband Britt; great-grandchildren, Grace Carmack, Hope Carmack, Sky Carmack, Laney Gilchrist, Jordyn Gilchrist, Gia Hobson, Adalee Hobson and Heath Hobson; nieces and nephews, Frances Heath McCarthy, Teresa Liles Tucker, Virginia Heath Hamrick, Renae Liles Leone, Steve Heath, Cyndy Liles Kosemund, and Susan Heath Bodey; as well as a host of great nieces, nephews, other family and the members of Lakeview Baptist Church. Services for Mr. Heath will be held 2:00 p.m., Friday, April 1, 2022, at the Beasley-Wood Chapel in Mena, Arkansas. Interment will follow at the Board Camp Cemetery in Board Camp, Arkansas. Brothers Steve Raines, Pat Horner, and Larry Youngblood will be officiating under the direction of Beasley-Wood Funeral Home. Visitation is scheduled for Thursday, March 31, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Beasley-Wood Chapel in Mena, Arkansas. Pallbearers are Jeff Gilchrist, Jeremy Gilchrist, Billy Carmack, Sky Carmack, Britt Hobson, Heath Hobson, and Keith Willsey. Honorary Pallbearers are Steve Heath, Cody McCarthy, Kenny Bodey, Thomas McBride, Bo McBride, Billy Ridgway, Mark Ridgway, Jerry Torix, and Bill Waddell. Online obituary at www.beasleywoodfuneralhome.com