Charles C. (“Charner”) Heard, 83, passed away on July 11, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri, surrounded by his family. He was born April 17th, 1938 in Atlanta, Georgia, the eldest child of William Henry Heard and Mildred Lifsey Heard. As the son of a Baptist preacher, he lived in several locations throughout the Southeast during his youth, along with his dear sisters Margaret Ann (“Marnie”) and Dianne.
After receiving his B.S. degree at Mercer University, he attended the Medical College of Georgia and graduated as an MD in 1964. While in medical school, he met and married the love of his life, Betty Gregory Heard, and they had three children of their own.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1965 and deployed to Vietnam. While on R&R in Hawaii, he sustained a massive brain aneurysm and spent the next 18 months recovering at multiple military hospitals. As a testimony to his strength and courage, and against all odds, he survived and learned to walk and talk again before his medical discharge from the Army in 1967.
He began practicing family medicine in Geneva and subsequently moved to private medical practice in Lafayette, Alabama. After a short time he relocated to Dadeville to become one of the town doctors from 1970-1989. Many people still remind us that our father helped deliver them, and the family joke is that he delivered half of Dadeville’s population.
He had many interests and hobbies. He always wanted to fly, so he obtained his pilot’s license. When not in the sky, he loved to tool around with his boat on Lake Martin. A trip to North Carolina led him to open a successful rafting business on the Nantahala River, managed by his close friend, Sam Cawley. He enjoyed many different sports including attending and following golf, especially at the Masters Tournament. He was a lifelong Georgia Bulldogs fan.
After private practice in Dadeville, he became a staff physician at Auburn University Student Health Center, a position from which he retired in 1996. He enjoyed traveling with his wife until her untimely passing in 2000, after which he moved from Dadeville to Branson, Missouri to be near his eldest son and his family. He volunteered with the local Branson VA in his later years, helping to schedule rides for veterans to doctor’s appointments.
He is survived by two sons, Weldon Howard (“Bucky”) (AJ) and William Gregory (Greg; Amelia), and daughter Dana Lynn Heard Lanier (Chris); spouse Reeva; six grandchildren (Allyson, Holly, Grace, Branyon, Bennett, and Cydney), and sisters Margaret Ann Schramm and Dianne Heard Morgan. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Betty, and grandchildren Willow and Whitley.
A graveside memorial will be held at Tallapoosa County Memorial Gardens on Sat, Sept 4th at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Disabled American Veterans (www.dav.org)