Former Marshfield News-Herald editor and publisher William “Bill” Heath, 85, of Marshfield, died on May 5, after a battle with heart disease.
Born on June 12, 1938, to Fredrick William and Emma Heath in Winter, he graduated from Phillips High School in 1956 before going on to earn a degree in journalism from UW-Madison in 1960.
After graduating, he started his career as a reporter and photographer for the Beloit Daily News, where he was promoted to city editor and, later, to assistant managing editor.
He married Judy Skelly on on May 4, 1961, at St. Peter Catholic Church in Beloit, and the couple went on to have three children. In 1971, the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where Heath served as an editor and reporter for the Arizona Daily Sun.
In 1976, the family returned in Wisconsin, and Heath joined the Marshfield News-Herald — first as editor and, later, as editor and publisher. He retired in 2001.
