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Ronnie Heaton was not one to hang on the handrails, he made life exciting. Ronnie died October 20 at the age of 77. His life had been full – full of memories that began when he was just a boy, when he often said, “I’m like Peter Pan, I’m never going to grow up.”

Ronnie’s wife, Lisa, described him as a “gypsy at heart.” He loved to travel and meet new people, and she estimates that they did probably 30 cruises or more in addition to other trips. “Ronnie enjoyed traveling, and when he got the chance he went,” Lisa said.

Ronnie first got the urge to “go” when he was a high school student, and opted for a trip to Washington, D.C., rather than compete in the state cross country tourney. In later years he would admit that was the first of his bad decisions. A student of Coach Dan Crowe at Hampton High School, Ronnie was a state-wide top distance runner. He died, holding the state title, and a few years ago was inducted into the Carter County Sports Hall of Fame.

Ronnie often joked that his trips to state meets provided him opportunities to go places he’d never been before. Up until that time he had never been out of Carter County. Competition in track took him to Memphis, Murfreesboro, and places in between.

When he graduated high school at Hampton, Ronnie, who had signed a scholarship with ETSU, instead joined two high school friends and signed up for the Army – mistake number two, he would often say. The Vietnam War was in progress. Ronnie was assigned to the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) or more commonly known as the “Sky Soldiers.” He served only one tour of duty but showed a lot of bravery and a fighting spirit during that time. He later was awarded two Bronze Stars for his service in a search-and-destroy mission as part of Operation Junction City.

According to one story Heaton opened fire on an enemy bunker with his machine gun on April 8, 1967, and put down the enemy before they were ready to fight back. Later in the skirmish, his assistant gunner was wounded and Heaton, without hesitating, exposed himself to enemy fire. 

Ronnie later described the Vietnam War as the most terrible thing he had ever seen.

Upon returning home from service, Heaton got a job and went to work in maintenance at the Johnson City Medical Center, and later married the love of his life, Lisa. 

In addition to Lisa, Ronnie’s other loves included his three children and seven grandchildren. “He spent a lot of time with his grandchildren and did vacations with them. Ron enjoyed seeing things through the eyes of a child, and laughing with them,” shared Lisa.

In addition to traveling, Ronnie enjoyed reading. His favorite author was John Gresham. “When he finished one book, he always had another one waiting,” his wife shared.

In addition to reading and traveling, Ronnie enjoyed fishing and antiquing. The Hampton Masonic Lodge was also a big part of Ronnie’s life. He was a 30-year member and took a lot of pride in being a Mason.

Among the places Ronnie had traveled to were St. Petersburg, Russia, and many of the islands in the Caribbean.

Ronnie developed Agent Orange when he was in Vietnam and it finally developed into cancer, which he had fought for the past five years. It was his final battle, and he fought it well.

Ronnie enjoyed running races, and ran the race of life well. He not only was a fighter, but had a competitive spirit. Lastly, he was a winner.

He was laid to rest October 24 at the Mountain Home National Cemetery.