Heather Scupine Kemp, age 67, of Sandy Springs, Georgia, passed away on June 29, 2026, after an extended illness.

Heather was born in Sandy Springs, Georgia, on October 1, 1958, to William and Audrey Scupine. Heather had a great love for animals. When she was 6, her Aunt Marion famously gifted her a pet skunk, Petunia. She excelled at the arts in all forms, training at the Atlanta Ballet and performing with their ballet company from an early age. She also loved to practice fine art and write poetry.

An honors student, Heather graduated from North Springs High School with a Performing Arts Scholarship to Berry College in Rome, Georgia. A talented performer, Heather starred in many shows, including The Crystal Pistol at Six Flags Over Georgia, Summer Stock in the Hamptons, and Opryland U.S.A. She danced in the NBC specials Christmas at the Opryhouse and Opryland’s Night of Stars before joining the NBC series The Nashville Palace as a regular. Buoyed by this early success, Heather moved to New York to chase her performing arts ambitions. While a struggling artist there, she worked at the Windows on the World restaurant atop one of the Twin Towers. She performed in numerous off-Broadway shows before being cast in A Chorus Line on Broadway, and had a brief feature in the film Crocodile Dundee (1986).

After moving back to Georgia, Heather began a successful career in property management, where she met her husband, Michael Kemp, and his daughter, Cecilia. Heather and Mike had a whirlwind romance and married on January 26, 1997. She was named AMLI National Manager of the Year in 1998 and Trainer of the Year in 1999. In 2001, Heather and Mike adopted their first child, Abigail, from China; during the adoption process, Heather helped AMLI develop a program to financially support adoptive families. In 2004, the couple adopted their second child, Eliza, from China. While working in property management, Heather also began teaching dance at Georgia Dance Conservatory on weekends.

After the death of her mother in 2009, Heather moved back to her childhood home and felt called to found a dance and performing arts school. Together with her father and her engineer husband, she designed and built a dance studio that would become the Sandy Springs School of Dance & Performing Arts in the Hitson Center of Sandy Springs United Methodist Church. Understanding the constraints of the dance world, Heather wanted to make dance available to everybody, regardless of politics, body type, or other barriers. Her school motto was: “Dancing for good; Performing with purpose.” In her 2017 VoyageATL interview, Heather said, “My hope is that they not only learn to dance with their bodies, but with their hearts. I have been given riches of the heart that could never be bought or sold. I listened to the small voice in my heart, and without regret, have never looked back.” Heather was the heart of SSDPA, owning and operating the school, and many remember Mrs. Heather as their first ballet teacher and their inspiration for dance. In 2020, she chose to close SSDPA to focus on her health, donating the studio to the church.

Though Heather’s health deteriorated in subsequent years, her devotion as a wife and mother never wavered, and her greatest passion remained helping her daughters become the best versions of themselves. She held onto that passion until the end. Her last words to Mike were, “Tell the girls how much I love them.”

Heather was preceded in death by her father, William Scupine; her mother, Audrey Scupine; her aunt, Marion McMillan; and her uncle, Charles Scupine. She is survived by her husband, Michael Kemp; her daughters, Abigail Kemp, Eliza Kemp, and Cecilia Badger (husband, William Badger); her grandchildren, Bill Badger, Kemp Badger, and Palmer Badger; her sister, Kathi Kinard (husband, William Kinard); and many extended family members.

In lieu of flowers, Michael Kemp is running the Chicago Marathon on October 11, 2026, raising funds for the American Cancer Society in honor of Heather and his late father, George Kemp, and asks that you donate here https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?fr_id=111800&pg=personal&px=61010965 or donate to the charity of your choice you feel would best honor Heather.

A celebration of life will be held at Dunwoody Baptist Church (1445 Mt. Vernon Rd., Dunwoody, GA 30338) on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 11:00 am with light refreshments to follow.

Georgia Cremation in Duluth assisted the family with arrangements.