Sydney Clark Heindel III, 69, died Sunday, May 12, 2019. He leaves behind a daughter, Brooke Heindel, her mother and Clark’s former wife, Juli, his parents, Sydney and Sarah Heindel, a brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Renee Heindel, and three nephews, Frankie, Joey, and Nick. Clark was preceded in death by his son, Jake Heindel.
He is also survived by many cousins and a wealth of friends and colleagues. Born and raised in Cornelia, Georgia surrounded by his beloved grandparents and the natural splendor of a farm at the foot of the mountains, his parents in the interest of a superior education sent him to live in Barrington, Rhode Island. He attended Moses Brown Prep School and excelled in both football and lacrosse.
Clark graduated from Moses Brown in 1968 and enrolled at Vanderbilt University from which he graduated with a degree in psychology in 1972. Clark pursued a doctoral degree at the University of Georgia in Educational Psychology. He had a passion for the cause of human flourishing and human liberty.
A close student of mythology, he maintained a lifelong interest in archetypes driving our behavior. Clark earned his doctorate in 1978 with a dissertation on Jim Morrison that currently is found in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Clark’s career in counselling began in Savannah in 1978 with prison therapy.
He moved to Milledgeville in 1982 where he continued to work for the state as a therapist in the prison system. He established his own private practice in Milledgeville in the mid-1990s and enjoyed many years of a flourishing practice until his retirement in 2014. Clark was a devotee of yoga going back to the seventies.
He bought a building in downtown Milledgeville that he restored and opened as Good Karma in 2014. He received his advanced yoga certification in Spain. It quickly became a locus for creative people and healthy living in the community.
Always active and engaged, he was a serious gardener, brilliant cook, enthusiastic musician, worldly traveler, lifelong reader, and supportive friend. He touched many lives through his high spirits and charismatic presence. He was a rare person.
Clark spent his life helping others battle their problems from addiction to losses suffered, to private demons, doubts and other disabilities he helped most. When successful, he was ecstatic; when not, he was personally burdened. He brought his tremendous skill sets to deal with his own great loss and other issues.
The loss of a friend on his “watch” was a burden too great to bear. With the love and support of Brooke and other family and friends, he won most of his battles and considered that he had had a “great life”. A private memorial service will be held in Charleston, South Carolina.
“Bob Dylan said, ‘Take care of all of your memories, for you cannot relive them.
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