Medical Office Building in Harlingen Dedicated in Honor of Doris Jay Heaving

HARLINGEN - A new medical office building in Harlingen has been dedicated in memory of Doris Joy Heavin, a mother five, including a San Benito businessman. Mrs. Heavin died of stroke when she was only 40 years old.

The Doris Joy Heavin Medical Professional Building, located at the corner of Lubbock Street and Ed Carey Drive, across from Valley Baptist Medical Center, was dedicated on Thursday, July 26, 2001. The 14,196-square-foot building houses the offices of Valley Health Plan and five Valley physicians. The physicians are Brajesh Bhatla, M.D., Nephrology (1911 Lubbock Street, Suite C); Thomas Huff, D.O., Family Practice (1911 Lubbock, Suite B); Juan Maldonado M.D., Family Practice and Robert Holder, M.D., Family Practice (1911 Lubbock, Suite A); and Muhammad Motiwala, M.D., Infectious Disease (1907 Lubbock).

The dedication ceremony included an unveiling of a bronze plaque, which bears an inscription written by Doris Heavin’s only daughter, Linda Heavin-Britton. Ms. Heavin-Britton noted that her mother suffered from high blood pressure and numerous illnesses that shortened her life. An autopsy revealed that she died in her sleep from a stroke. 

“Despite her illnesses, our mother managed in her short years to raise her five children and prepare each of them to face the world, while losing the fight for her own life,” Ms. Heavin-Britton said. “She was the last of a generation that considered being a wife and mother a noble profession.”

Linda Heavin-Britton was only 16 years old when her mother passed away, and she was asked to identify the body. Like her mother, Ms. Heavin has faced many challenges, both from illnesses and during her professional life as a teacher. For many years, she taught on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. 

Mrs. Heavin son’s David, who founded Ideas in Action, a promotional advertising company in San Benito, said Mrs. Heavin studied her children, “finding sparks of interest and weaknesses. She busied herself fanning those sparks and providing foundations or corrections for those things that might keep her children from meeting the world on any terms,” Mr. Heavin added.

Mr. Heavins, like the other Heavin children, has overcome many obstacles, including the effects of a battle with childhood polio that left one leg shorter than the other. Mr. Heavins runs the San Benito company along with his wife, Glenna White-Heavin. They live in San Benito with their two youngest children, Nicole and Christopher. Their oldest son, Bill is grown and has moved out of the Valley.

A second son, H. Gary Heavin, was just 13 years old when his mother died. He is now the CEO of the world's largest physical fitness franchise, "Curves for Women." Along with his wife Diane, who works by his side, he has four children: Brandon, Ginnie, Jason, and Shilah Joy, who is named after her grandmother.

A third son, Paul Heavin, also has faced many challenges following a motorcycle accident at age 15 which left him paralyzed from the chest down. In spite of his disability, Paul Heavins owns his own business, Heavin Business Consultants, which specializes in troubleshooting management and marketing problems for many of today’s largest corporations. 

The youngest son, Will, has built a successful insurance company, Heavin Insurance Associates, in Corpus Christi. He is married to Cindy Heavin, who is originally from Weslaco. They have two children, William, 3, and Taze, seven months. “Will is most like his mother in his sweetness and in his sense of caring and doing for others,” David Heavin said. “Will is extremely dedicated to his faith, family, and friends.” 

The Doris Joy Heavin Medical Professional Building is in the former location of the Valley Eye Center. The building was acquired by Valley Baptist Health System to provide additional office space to accommodate Harlingen’s growing medical community.

HEAVIN PROFESSIONAL BUILDING - Family members of Doris Joy Heavin gathered across from VBMC July 26 to dedicate the Heavin Medical Professional Building in honor of their mother. Mrs. Heavin, a mother of five, died of a stroke when she was only 40 years old. Above, family members David Heavin, Paul Heavin Linda Heavin-Britton, H. Gary Heavin, and Will Heavin gaze at the new sign for the building now bearing the name of their mother. The 14,196-square-foot building, located at the corner of Ed Carey and Lubbock Street, houses the offices of Valley Health Plans and five physicians on VBMC’s Medical Staff: Brajesh Bhatla, M.D., Nephrology; Thomas Huff, D.O., Family Practice; Juan Maldonado M.D., Family Practice, Robert Holder, M.D., Family Practice; and Muhammad Motiwala, M.D., Infectious Disease.