Gyneth Rae Heath

Gyneth Rae (Smith) Heath was born to Don and Helen Smith, in the midst of corn country, Sioux City Iowa, March 11, 1939. She was the second of five children. After World War II her father moved their whole family to the Seattle area. Gyneth had a good and stable childhood. Growing into a popular, strong young woman she was a bit of a tomboy, strong minded, but sweet, and could be serious, silly, and stubborn, as well as a loyal friend. Some of her favorite memories growing up were playing in the Atrium in Seattle and speaking tutty-talk with her friends.

In 1957 she met the love of her life, Eldon Heath at a roller rink in Renton, Wa. They were married March 24th, 1958. Eldon was a brick mason; with her organized mind she excelled as his secretary through the 56 years of his career. Gyneth started as a stepmother to Eldon’s three children, they had three children of their own and then adopted two more.

They loved each other passionately and loved to do a lot of the same things; travel and visit gardens, play on the beach, and cook. One of the things they really liked to do together was shop for greeting cards. Everywhere they moved she developed gardens that could grace the cover of Good Housekeeping magazine. With Eldon’s love of remodeling homes, they transformed every home they lived in. She also loved to clean, cook, can food, and was known for her wonderful pies, yummy freezer jams, and dill pickles.

Gyn was raised Baptist but didn’t come to have a relationship with Christ until she was in her mid 30’s. As she grew in her relationship with Jesus she wanted to find a way to serve God better but didn’t know how.

Eldon went home to be with Jesus in August of 2014. After 56 years of marriage Gyn was devastated. She found a new purpose in life in being “Grandma the Great” to her ever-increasing number of grandchildren. As she was growing older, without Eldon’s help, her beautifully landscaped yard became too much for her. In hiring men from the men’s discipleship program through her church to care for it she found what she considered the most significant ministry of her life in being a “mom” to these men recovering from addictions; listening to their stories and sharing what God had taught her through her journey with Him.

In 2019, after a second round of fighting breast cancer Gyn moved down to Tacoma to live with her youngest daughter and son-in-law. This was a very hard move for her, but she found that God had a whole new ministry for her as “mom” to the men in the Christian Biker Tabernacle men’s discipleship program, which is for men who are stuck in life controlling problems.

In the fall of 2021 the cancer came back. After a long fight with it she longed for what she called, “The miracle of going home to Jesus”. On April 5, 2023, at the age of 84, Jesus took her home.

She is survived by her children Teri Lynn Comroe of Longview, TX. Jef Jay Heath (Heather) of Oregon City, OR. Alea Ann Watterberg (Cleave) of Niceville, FL. Justin Levi Heath of Portland, OR. James Lewis Heath (Melissa) of Huron, SD. Step-daughters Jody Renee Bentler (Jerry) of Clark Fork, ID and Penney Lee VanLieu of Friday Harbor, WA. 15 grandchildren, 7 step-grandchildren, and 35 great grandchildren. Her brother Donald Smith (Dottie) of Marysville, WA. and brother Larry Smith (Gayle) of Lynnwood, WA., along with numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on May 6th, 2023 at noon at: Summit Christian Center, 2824 112th St. E, Tacoma, WA 98445

Bring your memories of Gyneth to share. There will be refreshments after.

In lieu of flowers please send donations in memory of Gyneth Heath to: Christian Biker Tabernacle, 11406 34th Ave East, Tacoma, WA 98446