Henry Dion Labrie

Henry Dion LaBrie, beloved son, grandson, brother, and nephew passed from this earth on August 12th, 2025.

Henry perished in a car accident while on his way to start his adult life in Hawthorne, Nevada.

Henry graduated from South Salem High School in June. He earned honors for attendance and creativity in the CTEC Law Enforcement program. After graduation, Henry toured Europe for five weeks with the EF Educational Tours group, making friends and absorbing old-world culture. He shared that he most enjoyed Spain, France, and Greece.

Henry was developing a relationship with the Catholic faith at the time of his passing. He shared a spiritual experience he felt while visiting a church in Amsterdam on his own accord.

Henry had overcome the challenges of a premature birth at a low weight and an ensuing speech delay to fully participate in life as a young adult. He survived the loss of his mother Amanda in 2020, after which he became a full-time resident of Salem—previously splitting time between Arizona and Oregon. He loved Oregon for its natural beauty and the rugged individuality of its natives, which he said helped inspire his own life plans.

Henry was a lifelong member of BSA Scouts, starting as a Tiger in Cub Scouts in Phoenix, Arizona and continuing as a decorated Scout through high school. He worked as a counselor/mentor at Camp Baldwin through the summers of 2023 and 2024. After the completion of his Scout program, he continued to serve as a volunteer Scout Guide at weekly meetings. He is fondly remembered by the staff and attendees at Camp Baldwin and Troop 7009 in Salem.

Henry had a lifelong passion for mechanical arts, weapons, and military history. He had planned to work at the Hawthorne Army Depot, the largest ammunitions and demilitarization facility in the world. He had hoped it would lead him to an eventual career in the military. He had also aspired to become a wildland firefighter.

Henry had an appreciation for literature, reading works by CS Lewis, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Thomas Merton, and Shakespeare on his own initiative. He loved discussing the meaning behind the works he read with his father and others. He was a fan of the films of Quentin Tarantino, Joel and Ethan Cohen, Jacques Tati, as well as the James Bond collection. He loved the music of Weezer, Lord Huron, Nirvana, and Andrew Jackson Jihad.

Henry was an accomplished skier, working at the HooDoo ski resort lodge as a busboy in the 2022/2023 season while taking the opportunity to ski every weekend. Henry also skied in Arizona and Colorado starting at the age of five.

Henry loved animals. He cared for his first dog Dexter, whom he immortalized with his first tattoo. He is sorely missed by his family’s dogs, cats, rabbit, and chickens, all of whom he tended with care.

Henry worked side-by-side with his father, developing skills in carpentry, excavation, and equipment installations. He developed skills with tools he had hoped to use in building or renovating his own home.

Henry is survived by his Father William LaBrie, his stepmother Rachel Gilliland, his sister Jane Whelan, his grandfather Heinz Berg, his stepsister Kya Peyree, and his uncle and aunt Bill and Trina Berg. He is preceded into the afterlife by his mother Amanda Berg, his grandmothers Carol LaBrie and Catherine Berg, and his grandfather Lloyd LaBrie. He is deeply missed by all those who knew him for his charming smile, his outreach to the neglected, his imaginative conversation, his empathy, his wonky wit, and his passion for justice and protecting the disadvantaged.