Henry Edmund Gilpin III

Henry Edmund Gilpin III
November 10, 1922 ~ December 11, 2011
MONTEREY - Henry Gilpin, 89, died peacefully in his home on Sunday, December 11, 2011, with his family by his side, following complications of a stroke.
Henry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Henry Edmund Gilpin Jr. and Eloise Van der Veer Gilpin. Henry was educated in Cleveland Heights schools, spending summer vacations working on his Dutch relatives' farm in New York. He was a direct descendent of General Philip Schuyler, and had a lifetime interest in U.S. history.
Henry enlisted in the Army Air Corps, training in the southwest, and received his pilot's wings in November 1943. In Lincoln, Nebraska, he picked up his plane, a B-24, gathered the nine men that would complete his crew, and flew across the Atlantic to England. He was 21 years old.
Assigned to the 801st/492nd Bombardment Group, Henry became part of the Carpetbaggers. Carpetbaggers flew at night, in B-24s painted black and modified to carry and drop supplies, as well as men and women, who worked with the underground resistance movement in German-occupied Europe. As a Carpetbagger, Henry flew 58 missions, the last eight missions supplying gas to General Patton. Receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross, Henry was honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps on September 11, 1945. He later served in the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 1971.
Upon discharge, Henry married his childhood friend and later sweetheart, Doris Myers, in 1946, in Cleveland's University Circle. GI Bill opportunities drew them to California, where Henry attended classes at UCLA. Tiring of LA, they sought a smaller town and came to the Monterey Peninsula. Seeking a way to live in the area, they investigated an opportunity with the Sheriff's Department of Monterey County. Henry often told the story as "I walked in to inquire about a job and came out with a badge and a gun". In 1976, retiring from the Sheriff's Department after 25 years, he left a varied career that included leading the Search and Rescue Team and attending the FBI Academy. At the time of his retirement, Henry was the Captain of the Detectives Division.
Photography played a significant part of Henry's life beginning in his childhood, when he had a coal bin darkroom. He had a lifelong interest in photography, and in 1959, attending an Ansel Adams workshop in Yosemite, his life changed. From that time onward, Henry's skill and passion for photography dominated his life. His goals to improve as a photographer led him to travel, exploring nature and refining his skills. Over his career, he produced more than 7,000 negatives, all black and white.
A Monterey Peninsula College teaching career began when Henry was with the Sheriff's department and continued for 37 years. He taught over a thousand students the basics of black and white photography. During his MPC years, a life rich with shows both individual and juried, program presentations, workshops, and travels enriched his life as he enriched the lives of others through his teaching. He also taught for 15 years at the University of California Santa Cruz extension. Henry led local workshops, taught in the Ansel Adams Workshops at Yosemite from 1967-1973, led workshops through the Gold Country, along Route 395, and in Death Valley. He led photographic caravans to Sante Fe and Yellowstone and in addition led workshops in New Zealand, Alaska and Spain. He traveled independently to Antarctica and Greenland.
Henry has been featured as a valuable photographic force in numerous magazine articles, books, a video and DVD. He is listed in Who's Who in American Art, and his prints are included nationwide in public and private collections. These include the California Museum of Photography, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Amon Carter Museum, the University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography, the University of Colorado University Library in Boulder, and the Monterey Museum of Art. His work has been on exhibit locally at the Monterey Museum of Art, the Highlands Inn, and the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel.
Henry is survived by Doris, his wife of 65 years; daughter, Jean Gilpin Freeman (Gary) of Pasadena; grandsons, Christopher Gilpin Freeman and Alexander Grant Freeman of Pasadena; son, James Howard Gilpin of Ventura; and stepbrother, William Van der Veer Myers of San Diego. Henry was preceeded in death by infant son, John Henry Gilpin.
No memorial service will be held. An Open House for friends, family, and former students will be held at his home, Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Donations may be made in his name to the Monterey Museum of Art, 559 Pacific St., Monterey, CA 93940, or the Center for Photographic Art, P.O. Box 1100, Carmel, CA 93921.