Obituary: Janet Heck Nave

Janet Heck Nave passed away December 30, 2014, in Oak Ridge. She was born December 2, 1941, in Rogersville, Tennessee.

After graduating from Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport in 1960, Janet attended Emory and Henry College where she met her future husband, Larry, during the first week of freshman orientation at a class picnic. Janet and Larry married in 1962 in January of her sophomore year. Janet graduated from Emory and Henry with a B.A. in English in 1965.

She taught English at Jefferson County High School in Jefferson City and was Head Librarian at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Ala. An extremely supportive wife and dutiful mother, Janet still managed to obtain her Master’s degree in Educational Media from Auburn University in 1976.

After moving to Oak Ridge in 1977, Janet worked at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for 24 years from 1978 through 2002 as an Information Scientist, Database Administrator, and Public Information Specialist.

Janet was an active member of each community in which she lived. In Enterprise, she served as an Assistant District Director for Alabama Special Olympics. In Oak Ridge, she assisted in the development of Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge Campus. She was an active member of First United Methodist Church for 36 years and also supported The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, Africa ELI, and KARM. Janet was a long-time supporter of her alma matter, Emory and Henry College, having endowed a scholarship at that school along with her husband and providing additional financial support for building programs and academic initiatives.

She was proceeded in death by parents, James Franklin (“Buck”) Heck, Sr. and Anna Bea Leonard Heck.

Janet is survived by loving husband of 53 years James Lawrence (“Larry”) Nave; son James David Nave and wife Donna (Nashville); daughter Tara Nave Marlow (Oak Ridge); grandchildren James Nikolai Nave and John (“Jack”) Mikhail Nave (Nashville), and Archer Nave Marlow (Oak Ridge); brother James Franklin Heck, Jr. and wife Brenda (Church Hill, Tennessee); nephew James (“Jamie”) Franklin Heck, III; uncle Raymond (“Wendy”) Heck (Kingsport); uncle Johnny Leonard and wife Francis (Rogersville, Tennessee); cousin Charlie Leonard and wife Jackie (Jonesborough, Tennessee) and dear friends that she made from East Tennessee to Southwest Virginia, South Alabama, and back to East Tennessee, too numerous to mention but who will always remember her.

The family received friends on Friday, January 9, beginning at 12:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, with a memorial service celebrating Janet’s full, accomplished and happy life led by Mahan Archer at 2 p.m. with the family continuing to receive friends at the church afterward.

In lieu of flowers, Janet’s family requested that contributions honoring her memory be made to the Employee Education Fund of Methodist Medical Center Foundation, designated specifically for the Critical Care Unit, 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-2529 or The Oak Ridge Free Medical Clinic, 116 East Division Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

An online guest book can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.