Elton Heaton, Jr., M.D. Obituary (1929

Dr. Elton Heaton Jr., age 94, of Madison, Indiana, entered this life on December 31, 1929, in Henry County, Kentucky. He was the loving son of the late Elton Heaton Sr. and Bernice Carter Heaton Stivers. In 1936 his family moved to Pleasureville, Kentucky, where he lived until 1942, when his family moved to Louisville. He graduated from Male High School in 1946 at the young age of 16. He received his A.B. degree from the University of Louisville in 1949 at the age of 19, being one of ten honor graduates in the class of over 800. He entered medical school in the fall at the University of Louisville and graduated in 1953. On June 7, 1951, he married Mary Alice Lyons. They lived in Louisville until his graduation from medical school, at which time he entered the United States Navy. He served for three years, including in Morocco. Elton's time in Morocco inspired a lifetime of travel. He traveled to all seven continents and 60 countries and took each of his eight grandchildren on trips. Please Click Here to View the Video Tribute. Please Click Here to View the Funeral Service Recording Upon his discharge he began his family medical practice in Huntingburg, Indiana, which he operated for five years. In 1961 he moved back to Louisville, where he started a four year residency in pathology. Upon completion, he moved to Madison, where he joined a friend's pathology practice. He continued his pathology practice until retirement in June of 2003, the 50 year anniversary of his medical school graduation. The practice continues in the hands of his son, Gregory, and grandson, Christopher. He practiced pathology at King's Daughters' Hospital, Dearborn County Hospital, Jackson County Hospital, Carroll County Hospital, and the Madison State Hospital. Elton had an entrepreneurial spirit and in 1966 he, along with two partners, began an automated chemistry laboratory in New Albany, providing chemistry services to hospitals in Kentucky and Indiana. After acquiring a second clinical laboratory in Louisville, the labs were merged with American Biomedical Corporation, which, through a series of mergers, is now part of LabCorp. In 1975 he and a partner founded the Medical Physics Laboratory to provide biofeedback training to medical patients upon referral by physicians. This operated in Madison and Louisville for ten years. In 1977 a separate corporation, Cybergenics, was formed to provide biofeedback training to the public. Elton spent his life in pursuit of knowledge - scientific, medical, religious, spiritual, and parapsychological - and this animated many of his hobbies and professional activities. His memoir, Searching for One White Crow, A Country Doctor's Quest for Truth, detailed his family history, his life, and his beliefs and search for answers to life's deep questions. Since 1965 Dr. Heaton was very active in the First Christian Church of Madison. He held positions as Sunday School Teacher, Deacon, Elder, Trustee, and Chairman of the Board. He was chairman of the Building Committee following the destruction of the church in a fire in 1989 and was highly instrumental in its rebuilding. Elton died on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 3:56 a.m. at the Norton King's Daughters' Hospital in Madison, Indiana. A LOVING FAMILYElton will be missed by his loving wife of 73 years, Mary Alice Lyons Heaton, of Madison, Indiana; his loving daughter, Dr. Gwendolyn "Gwen" Heaton, of Madison, Indiana; his loving sons, Dr. Gregory E. Heaton and his wife, Lisa, of Madison, Indiana, and Dr. Joseph Bradley Heaton and his wife, Sally, of Denver, Colorado; his grandchildren, Kim (Joey), Caroline (Evan), William H, William G (Samantha), Christopher (Jenna), Kate (Michael), Amy (James), and Gregory (Nicole); his great-grandchildren, Oliver, Owen, Henry, Elliott, Charles, Conan, Nora, Eloise, Jack, Caleb, Connor, Isabelle, Holly, and Heidi. He was preceded in death by his father, Elton Heaton Sr., died June 13, 1965; his mother, Bernice Carter Heaton Stivers, died November 25, 2002; and his step-father, Morrison Stivers, died March 2, 1979. FUNERAL CEREMONYFuneral services will be conducted on Monday, September 9, 2024, at 1:00 p.m, by Pastor Bill Johnson at the First Christian Church, 512 West Main Street in downtown Madison, Indiana. Interment will follow at Pleasureville Cemetery in Pleasureville, Kentucky. VISITATIONFriends may visit on Monday, September 9, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the First Christian Church, 512 West Main Street in downtown Madison, Indiana. MILITARY HONORSMilitary honors will be provided by the Major Samuel Woodfill Post No. 9 of the American Legion and the Great Lakes U.S. Naval Ceremonial Unit. MEMORIAL EXPRESSIONSMemorial contributions may be made to the First Christian Church. Cards are available at the Morgan & Nay Funeral Centres of Madison and Hanover. 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