John William Henry

1939 - 2020

March 10, 1939 - March 30, 2020 On March 30, 2020, John William "Bill" Henry, loving husband, father, and grandfather, passed away at home. Requiescat in pace. In 1939, John William Henry was born in Port Orchard, WA, the first of four children to William Arthur Henry and Nora Agnes nee Harraher, followed by brother Joseph Michael, and sisters Sara Agnes and Mary Christine. In the 1940s, the family moved to Queen Ann Hill in Seattle. In the 1950s, they moved to Mukilteo, WA, where Bill attended Rosehill Elementary School. He graduated from Everett High School in 1957, and after high school he attended Everett Community College and Seattle City College where he worked towards a business and accounting degree. After high school, Bill worked for Baker Ambulance as a driver and deputy coroner. While driving ambulance, he met his future wife, Joan Marie Fisher, a nursing student at Everett General Hospital. In 1963 Bill and Joan married at Immaculate Conception Parish in Everett, bought a house around the corner from the ambulance company, and started a family with daughter, Jill, and son, Marcus. In the late 1960s, he took a job as a buyer and office manager for ITT Rayonier in Seattle. Bill's hobbies and passions included a love of geared steam locomotives, especially the Shay and the Willamette (train people will tell you they are not the same), classic cars and hotrods like his '41 Chevy, '53 Cadillac, and his beloved '68 GMC the "DUK TRK". He was also an avid outdoorsman who spent many vacations with his family exploring the trails, historical towns, and abandoned mines of the Cascade Mountains and Olympic Peninsula. He enjoyed hunting deer and ducks, but his true passion was fly fishing. He fly fished in many states including Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, as well as crossing the border into Canada to fish famous rivers in British Columbia and Alberta. Family vacations were also spent at the Fisher Family cabin and acreage along the San Poil river near Republic, WA. The family loved sitting around the camp fire roasting marshmallows and listening to country music. In his late 40s, Bill was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He was not a person to sit around and feel sorry for himself, so the family traded the tent for a motorhome, allowing the adventures to continue, and the shotgun for a scroll saw, with which Bill and Joan spent many happy hours cutting, sanding and painting wooden creations for gifts and charity. In spite of his Irish stubbornness, the MS eventually won. Bill is survived by his devoted wife, Joan; daughter, Jill Marie (Sam) Clark; son, Marcus William Henry; brother, Joseph Michael (Fran) Henry; sister, Mary Christine (Moe) Goldstein; grandchildren, Sara Marie Elliott, Emily Rose Elliott, and Elijah James Clark; sisters-in-law, Pamela Jean (Bill, decd.) Darst and Patricia Ann Fisher; brother-in-law, John (Denise, decd.) Gerth; many cousins, nieces, and nephews; and Hershey and Milo, the dogs. Due to current social restrictions there will not be a service held at this time. Memorials can be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. www.NationalMS Society.org/Donate