Sad News

[L Verge]

Many of you know Heath and Josh Atkinson as members of this forum. I did not go to work today, but a staff member called me at home to tell me that Josh had called to tell me that Heath passed away this past weekend. I don't know any details, but will call Josh in the morning.

Heath was a young man, in his 40s, I believe, with a wife and daughter. He was a lawyer in South Carolina and also very well researched in various areas of American history.

Heath was scheduled to speak at the Surratt conference this April and had shared some of his findings with me. Very interesting details on the "trail" of Lincoln's body from Ford's Theatre until it began its journey back to Springfield. I hope that Josh continues the research or shares it with others.

[Eva Elisabeth]

What sad, shocking news and loss - I feel for his family.

[RJNorton]

How incredibly sad. I found an obituary here.

[BettyO]

Very sad and shocking -- so young and full of promise! Heath will be missed....

[LincolnMan]

Prayers go out to him and his loved ones

[Thomas Kearney]

(01-04-2016 06:01 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Many of you know Heath and Josh Atkinson as members of this forum. I did not go to work today, but a staff member called me at home to tell me that Josh had called to tell me that Heath passed away this past weekend. I don't know any details, but will call Josh in the morning.

Heath was a young man, in his 40s, I believe, with a wife and daughter. He was a lawyer in South Carolina and also very well researched in various areas of American history.

Heath was scheduled to speak at the Surratt conference this April and had shared some of his findings with me. Very interesting details on the "trail" of Lincoln's body from Ford's Theatre until it began its journey back to Springfield. I hope that Josh continues the research or shares it with others.

My condolences to his family. I was looking forward to hearing him speak!

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Just signed the Guest book!

[Susan Higginbotham]

I'm very sorry to hear this.

[Jim Garrett]

Over the last several years, I've gotten to know Heath. Heath, often accompanied by his brother Josh would come up to Washington for a quick trip around town, and we would have an opportunity to get together. Heath was a bright, enjoyable and engaging person with a keen interest in history and of course, the Lincoln assassination. He had that classic Southern charm without one ounce of pretense.

Our last meeting was just last month, a few days before his death. We had a great time and parted with a hearty man-hug.

Heath will be greatly missed by his family, his friends and all those whose lives he has touched. So long good friend,

[Dave Taylor]

(01-05-2016 05:53 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  Heath will be greatly missed by his family, his friends and all those whose lives he has touched. So long good friend.

Amen, Jim.

I had a great time with Heath and his brother Josh, as Jim Garrett and I showed him around Southern Maryland before the Surratt conference a couple years back. Heath was most excited to visit Dent's Meadow where Booth and Herold set across the Potomac. He took several pictures there, including one of Jim and me.

Heath texted me after that trip with his idea for a conference speech. I told him it was a great idea and that he should share it with Laurie, who clearly agreed. I was so looking forward to hearing him speak because he had put so much work into it.

Here on the forum, Heath was always sharing new things and putting forth thought provoking questions. Heath made me think about a lot of things in a way I hadn't before.

Heath was a gentleman and a lot of fun to be around. He will be missed immensely.

[L Verge]

I spoke with his brother Josh today and begged him to please save the research that Heath had been doing for a number of years - not just the material he had been gathering for his speech. He had gathered some interesting details and added some thought-provoking ideas also -- truly a lawyer's mind trying to nail down the evidence. He was the new generation of Lincoln assassination scholars that we have been in hopes of supporting for the knowledge that they could bring to future generations. I'm heartbroken.

[Dave Taylor]

I went through my photos today to see if I took any pictures of Heath when Jim Garrett and I took him and his brother Josh around back in 2014. Sadly, since I was playing tour guide and had already been to all the places we showed them multiple times, I did not take many photos. The only one I have that shows Heath is this one:





Here Jim Garrett is taking Heath and Josh's picture down at Dent's Meadow where Booth and Herold tried to cross the Potomac River. You can just see the face of Abraham Lincoln creeping out from beneath Heath's coat. I remember that shirt quite well as it made me laugh. It featured the image of Lincoln on it along with the phrase "I hate the theater" on the bottom. Given the unpleasantness of Lincoln's final theater visit, I can understand why the 16th President changed his mind about it. Heath had a great sense of humor.

[L Verge]

If you read the obituary that Roger provided above, you probably noticed that Heath's nephew (son of brother Josh) is named Lincoln Atkinson.

[Dawn E Foster]

So sad ...

[Thomas Kearney]

Laurie, have you figured out who is going to give Heath's presentation or what is the situation?

[L Verge]

I am allowing the family time to mourn and will not be approaching them about the status/completion of his speech. I doubt that it was in final form.

I had other people on my prospective speakers list when we began inviting them this past April. At the top was Susan Higganbotham of this forum. She has graciously accepted my invitation to speak on the boardinghouse residents with special emphasis on everyone's "favorite," Mr. Weichmann. Susan is also very well-known in the field of historical novels, and I hope she will have time to discuss how a creative writer can turn historical facts and details into compelling novels. She had already accepted my offer to participate in our Authors' Hour on Saturday. Now, we're getting much more.