Thomas N. Heap
1948 - 2024

Tom peacefully departed this life Wednesday, March 27, after a brief illness.  He will be greatly missed by all those who knew and loved him.  He was 76.

Tom was born March 26, 1948, in Minneapolis, at the leading wave of the post-war Baby Boomers.  Soon, he and his mother and brother moved to Austin where he attended O’Henry Junior High School, playing both baseball and football.

In the summer of 1963, the family moved to Dallas and Tom entered Highland Park High School, where he was an excellent student and a valuable member of the varsity football team.  After graduating high school in 1966, he enrolled in the pre-med program at Stephen F. Austin College.  While there, he was an active member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, where he has enjoyed many lifelong friendships.   Then he entered the UT School of Dentistry in Houston beginning a career in dentistry spanning well over 40 years.  He treated over 4,000 patients, including many members of the Oilers and the Astros. 

Tom is predeceased by two sons, William Robert and Walter Thomas Heap, and a daughter, Elizabeth Louise.  He is survived by his devoted partner, Marti Peterson of Houston, his brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Marilyn Heap of Dallas, his son Edward Heap, and granddaughter, Vivian, of Houston.

After a private grave-side ceremony, Tom will be laid to rest in the large, old family plot in historic Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, which dates to the 1870s.  Over the past 100 years, most of his Waco ancestors have been buried there, including several infants as well as great-great-great aunts, uncles, and grandparents, including a family member who invented Dr. Pepper in 1885.   

Considering Tom’s love and concern for special-needs children, the family is encouraging donations to Camp John Marc.

https://www.campjohnmarc.org/