Dwight Carl Henn

Dwight Carl Henn, 92, passed away on August 19, 2025. He was most recently of Georgetown TX and had previously lived in Middlesboro KY; and several places in Ohio.

Dwight was born on May 22, 1933, to Owen Carl and Anna Mae (Bennett) Henn in Dayton OH. The family moved shortly thereafter to Jefferson Township in Montgomery County OH and Dwight grew up there, active in the local Boy Scouts and later the high school football team. He was elected president of his senior class, which instilled in him a sense of responsibility for and loyalty to his classmates for life. After high school, Dwight attended Manchester College and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1955. He later obtained a Master's degree in Education from Wittenberg College in 1961, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Cincinnati in 1974.

Dwight served in the U.S. Army for two years during the Korean War, stationed at a ship refueling station in Yoshimura, Japan. When he returned to civilian life, he started his long career as an educator when he was hired as a teacher and coach by the Troy OH school district. While he worked there, he met a beautiful medical technologist who was working at the local hospital. They fell in love and were married on September 12, 1959. Dwight and Diane were deeply in love and inseparable for 65 years, and treated life as an adventure to be shared together. They went on to have four children: Jo Allison, Mark, Carl, and Kenna.

Education and service were very important to Dwight. In the early years of his career, when he was mostly called "Ike", he was a football and track and field coach and taught biology and general science for school systems in Bradford OH, St. Paris OH, and Troy OH. He then transitioned into school administration working first as a principal of two elementary schools in Troy, then as the assistant principal at the junior high school. In 1972, he was hired as the new Superintendent of schools at Mississinawa Valley in Union City Ohio where he implemented a new program of Individually Guided Education for the students to learn at their own speed. From 1975 through 1984 he was the Superintendent of Schools at Port Clinton OH and from there he moved to a larger district in Middlesboro KY and served as their Superintendent of Schools from 1984 through 1997. At Middlesboro he built a new performing arts building and brought in artists in residence to work with the students, and renovated the elementary school buildings. In addition, he worked as an adjunct professor teaching Education Administration at three local colleges. He also served as an advisor to the governor in matters involving education in the state.

While in Ohio, Dwight and Diane owned and operated a soft-serve ice cream store/Christmas tree vendor, a camp for boys in northern Michigan, and a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store. They brought their children along on every such venture, putting them in the playpen in the back of the Dairy Isle, including them amongst the campers in swimming, canoeing, archery, etc., and allowing them to be official taste testers of every new flavor produced by Baskin-Robbins!

Dwight was a loving, caring and kind man. He always saw the best in everyone and was interested in every person he met; he was extremely loyal and caring to family and friends. He was very proud of his children and grandchildren and bragged about them every chance he had. Dwight loved to read and to learn and was seldom seen without a book nearby. He played piano and guitar by ear to entertain friends and family and was known for singing Hank Williams songs (badly -on purpose) around the house and camp songs around the campfire. He loved telling stories and learning others' stories. He loved camping, canoeing, and hiking and took the family on many camping and canoe camping trips, even going so far as to get camping gear for the whole family that was rated to be adequate for winter camping. During his career he also was a very active Rotarian. He was a member of the local historical society in Middlesboro KY, and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church. After he retired, in 1997, he and Diane moved to Texas to be closer to their youngest son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. He became a member of the Williamson County Historical Commission, a Helping Hands driver (driving Seniors to medical appointments), a court watcher in domestic violence cases, and served as a lecturer, Vice President, and President of Senior University. He also attended many courses there over the years. He was a founding member of the San Gabriel Presbyterian Church and an Elder there for many years.

He and Diane traveled extensively. Some trips were made with the family, such as the many trips to Revolutionary War and Civil War battlefields in the summers and the trip they made with a station wagon and a rented camper to Mexico City by way of Canada from Ohio, and back to Ohio, in 1969. After they retired in 1997, they bought a camper and named it "School's Out", often using it on their twice-yearly circuits of the country to visit each of their children's families, their siblings, and many old friends. Diane and Dwight traveled to all 50 states and to 29 countries. They took the whole family to South Africa to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 2009.

Dwight is predeceased by his wife, Diane Clare [Snyder] Henn, his parents, Owen Carl and Anna Mae [Bennett] Henn; his brother, Cecil Bennett Henn; his sister, Angela Joy Bollinger Ver Ploeg; and his son, Carl Raman Henn.

He is survived by his beloved sister Joan Elaine Henn of Knoxville TN; daughter, Jo Allison Henn of East Greenbush NY; sons: Mark Jordan Henn of Durham NH and Kenna Philip Henn (Yvonne) of Austin TX , and daughter-in-law Carol Henn of Rockville MD; grandchildren: Owen Henn of Boston MA, Kara Radzinski (Nikolai) of Melrose MA, Jessica Henn of Rockville MD, Allison Henn (Corbin) of Seattle WA, Saskia Henn (Luke) and Tessa Henn (Nick) of Denton TX and two great-grandchildren. He will also be sadly missed by many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Dwight and Diane will rest together near their beloved son Carl in Rockville, MD after a private family memorial.

Donations may be made to Manchester University, the Manchester fund, https://www.manchester.edu/alumni/giving-to-mu/makeagift; or Senior University, now called Lifelong Learners GTX https://lifelonglearnersgtx.com/how-to-help/donate/.