Isaac Heard, Sr.

Isaac Heard, Sr. (June 15, 1925 - March 7, 2021) On the evening of Sunday, March 7, 2021 Isaac Heard Sr. joined his beloved wife, Gwendolyn, in Heaven as he departed this life. Born on June 15, 1925 to Bishop Mallileu and Pearl Waters Heard in Hattiesburg, MS, he was the youngest of their four children who survived their earlier childhoods. Educated in the elementary and secondary schools of Hattiesburg, he moved to Hampton Va to complete his high school education and then a BS in Building Construction from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). While there, he met the love of his life, Gwendolyn Ohland Bridge, with whom he bonded literally on first sight, according to their friends. Marrying in 1948 they moved to Crockett, Tx in 1949 to teach at Mary Allen Junior College and start their lives closer to Gwendolyn’s home of Galveston Tx. From there they moved to Charlotte in 1953 where Mr. Heard took a job as the Superintendent of Buildings and Ground while teaching classes in mechanical drawing at Johnson C. Smith University. After a few years he accepted a position with Douglas Aircraft Company at their Charlotte facility on Statesville Ave. and built a family home in the nearby neighborhood of McCrorey Heights. After more than a decade with Douglas, he moved on to the J.N.Pease Architecture and Engineering firm as a draftsman and specification writer. Being inspired by his son’s graduate education in city planning, he took an interest in housing rehabilitation and moved to a job with the City of Charlotte in their efforts at urban renewal and community development. Eventually he yearned for more direct engineering work and accepted a position with the architectural firm of Clark, Tribble, Harris and Li as their specifications specialist. While there he joined and eventually was selected for a term as president of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) chapter in Charlotte. Going from full time to partial retirement in 1990, he increasingly devoted his time to travel and good times with Gwendolyn and their kids, especially enjoying engaging in numerous alumni events with the local and national chapters of Hampton. In 1995 he finally fully retired and devoted all of his time to the considerable “honey do” list that Gwendolyn always maintained. Following her death in 2017, he lived with his son and daughter-in-law until his death. He was predeceased by his wife Gwendolyn, brother (Louis Heard), and sisters (Mary Ann Wilson and Mattie Ford Lyell). He is survived by his daughter Cheryl Dale Heard Graber and son-in-law Richard of Charlotte, son Isaac Heard Jr and daughter-in-law Patricia of Charlotte, grandchildren Isaac Addison Heard and wife Eden of Falls Church Va., Meredith Virginia Heard Pollock and husband Mathias of Reston, Va., and great grandchildren Carey Avery Heard, Lana Gwendolyn Heard, Shiloh Maille Pollock and Hazel Marta Pollock. As Mr. Heard would never wish to put his friends and neighbors at risk during a pandemic, there will be no memorial service and internment will be a private family affair. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to make a contribution to the Isaac and Gwendolyn B. Heard Endowed Scholarship at Hampton University.