Michael Henry

Michael Henry was born on August 24, 1946, and passed on October 5, 2025, after a short illness at Denver Health Medical Center, surrounded by his loving family.

He is survived by his three siblings: Christine Harlan (Mark), Kelly Henry (Laurel), and Mary Williams. He is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces, a grandnephew, and a grandniece.

Celebration of Life service will be on Friday, December 5th at 1 p.m. with reception to follow. Location: Horan & McConaty, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80246

Michael was a quiet superhero… full stop. Even though he had a soft-spoken, gentle personality, he was “a mover and a shaker” who worked tirelessly, in both his professional and volunteer careers, to make the city of Denver a safer and better place to live.

He grew up in east Denver, Colorado, attending Blessed Sacrament Elementary and Machebeuf High School. He obtained a B.A. degree in Government cum laude from Harvard (1968) and his law degree from University of Colorado (1971).

Michael loved his time at Harvard, developing life-long friendships with his three roomies, Dave Glenn, Fred Miller, and Al Boright. One of his roommates writes, “His faith and sanity was a prudent, helpful balance to our exuberant college student activities…” The four of them have used visits, phone calls, and Zoom to stay in touch for over sixty years!

He started a private law practice and then worked as the Chief Investigative Counsel in the Colorado Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Counsel’s Office. Later he held the position of Staff Director of the Board of Ethics for the City and County of Denver.

Michael was a skilled mediator, working with opposing sides to better understand each other. As one person put it, “He is the epitome of fair and equitable. He can see both sides of an issue.” Former Denver mayor Wellington Webb once said Michael always treats all people the same — “that is what civil rights is all about.”

Michael was widely respected for his integrity and ethics. When the city of Denver faced a crisis in its Civil Service Commission decades ago, Mayor Webb reported that he immediately thought of Michael as the one who could fix it. When the mayor wanted to be sure that the highest standards were set in place concerning ethics for the city of Denver, he thought of Michael.

He is perhaps best known for his work with Denver neighborhoods. For decades, he volunteered his time and efforts to Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN) and Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC), a coalition of Denver neighborhood groups. He worked on countless neighborhood issues, including the preservation of historical landmarks and zoning changes to better protect neighborhood residents.

Michael was the recipient of numerous awards, including:

Life on Capitol Hill’s Man of the Year (1985)

Greater Capitol Hill Neighborhood News Man of the Year (1992)

Dale Tooley Community Service Reward (1996)

City Club of Denver James Grafton Rogers Award (2004)

The Ann Love Historic Denver Award (2009)

Tom Knorr Award for Community Service (2008)

Denver INC Special Lifetime Achievement Award (2015)

As a friend once noted, “Capitol Hill would not be the same place without his work.” As another friend remarked, “Truly, he is a special breed of tireless worker, and we in Denver are lucky to have him in our midst and to be able to call him friend.”

Michael enjoyed celebrating holidays with his family. He was a bit of a foodie and often clipped recipes from magazines. For dessert on Thanksgiving, he would bake pumpkin pies and joke that he put in a bit more brandy than the preceding year.

He would treat his family to delicious eggplant parmesan every Christmas season. After eating, family members would participate in his favorite traditions, including everyone singing, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” belting out his favorite verse, “Now bring us some figgy pudding…”

On St. Patrick’s Day, Michael would provide corned beef and cabbage for the family, celebrating their Irish heritage. He enjoyed giving family members a hard time if they showed up for dinner that day without wearing green, and, yes, it had to be the proper shade of green.

Michael was kind and generous. He allowed his homeless nephew to stay with him on several occasions. He was concerned about the homeless and his life reflected that, including his support for Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

Michael was confined to a wheelchair these last few years. He was always very stoic, rarely complaining about his physical limitations. He could also be very stubborn. When he was released from medical care a few years ago after a severe illness, his occupational therapists told him and his siblings that he was too weak to live independently. They strongly recommended that he go into an assisted living facility. He absolutely refused, saying that he must return to his home and that (with some assistance) he would be capable of taking care of himself. All the naysayers finally gave up, giving in to Michael’s determined wish to return home. Once there, he did remarkably well with help from Thelma, his wonderful caregiver who assisted him several days each week.

=================================================================

It’s an impossible task to adequately describe a superstar like Michael. All that he accomplished in his lifetime for the betterment of Capitol Hill and the city of Denver is remarkable. There are many more accomplishments and volunteer efforts that could be noted here but space precludes that.

He will be greatly missed.

=================================================================

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations in memory of Michael can be made to:

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

P.O. Box 1560

Denver, CO 80201-1560

https://www.coloradocoalition.org/