Albert Jerome McHenry

1936 - 2023

Albert Jerome McHenry
03/08/1936 - 11/13/2023
Albert Jerome McHenry, or Jerry to everyone who knew him, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on March 8, 1936, the third of Adams and Rosemary McHenry's four children. He and his siblings grew up less than a mile from Orville Wright's home, where he met one half of the Wright Brothers during his childhood, a story he loved to recount in his later life. Jerry's maternal great-grandfather, Walter Jerome Green, had owned the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railroad before selling it to Henry Flagler. Between his childhood near the Wright Brothers' home and his great-grandfather's legacy, Jerry had a lifelong fascination with planes and trains, and he enjoyed building reduced scale replicas of both until his 80s.
As a child, Jerry spent his summers at his family's island home on the St. Lawrence River and attended Cranbrook School in Michigan as well as Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. He later attended the University of Miami and Ohio State University before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1957. His four-year stint took him across the Pacific aboard the USS Hancock before he received an honorable discharge in 1961.
Jerry eventually moved to Houston to be close to his eldest sister, who had married a Houstonian and moved there in the 1950s. He became a banker and later, a photographer before illness pushed him into an early retirement. In the early 1990s, Jerry served on the event committee for the Wings Over Houston Air Show.
Jerry was an amateur World War II historian, model railroad enthusiast, golden retriever fanatic, proud Ohio State Buckeye, and lifelong New York Yankees fan. He loved listening to the Kingston Trio and ate at least one bowl of Dutch chocolate Blue Bell ice cream every night before bed.
Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, Adams and Rosemary (Green) McHenry, and his sisters, Mary Stuart (McHenry) Baker and Dorothy Anne (McHenry) Martin. Jerry leaves behind his wife, Molly (Macon) McHenry; his twin brother, Adams Conover McHenry, Jr., and sister-in-law, Sandra (Lovin) McHenry; brother-in-law, James Addison Baker, III, and wife, Susan (Garrett) Baker; brother-in-law William Linus Macon, IV, and wife, Mary Lynn (Schilling) Macon; four children and their partners: Hilary Elizabeth McHenry (Teresa Biggs) and Mary Stuart (McHenry) Hagood (Marcus) of Portland, Oregon; Albert Jerome McHenry, Jr. (Louise) of Copenhagen, Denmark; and Katharine Bain McHenry of Alexandria, Virginia; eight grandchildren (Cole, Madeline and Lauren Hagood; Callum, Emmet and Nanne-Stuart McHenry; and Hayden and Harper McHenry-Biggs); and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.
Donations in Jerry's memory can be made to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society or to Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue in Houston, Texas.