Baker City, Baker County, Oregon
Jim Henry, 81, died at home on July 22, 2005, after a long battle with lung cancer.
His graveside inurnment service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the military section of Mount Hope Cemetery. Father Camillus Fernando of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral will officiate. Military rites will be under the auspices of the National Guard and Doug Riggs will speak on behalf of the Baker Elks Lodge. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception after the services at the Eagles Lodge, 2935 H St.
Jim was born on Aug. 17, 1923, at Denver to John J. Henry and Mary Florence Fellows Henry. He was one of 12 children.
Jim attended Catholic schools in Denver, including St. Joseph High School. After high school, he worked in his father’s heating and sheet metal business, learning the trade.
In 1940, the family moved to Washington, and Jim again was employed in the sheet metal business at Bremerton, Wash.
In May 1943, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After training, he was assigned to the 19th bomb squadron, 22nd bomb group. His group was known as the Red Raiders.
He was a nose gunner on the B24 Liberator Bomber. Jim flew 40 combat missions in the South Pacific Theatre of World War II. His plane was shot down twice, once over Formosa and once over New Guinea.
He was awarded the Asiatic Pacific Theatre medal, the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, The Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one star, the Good Conduct Medal and two Purple Hearts.
After serving 15 months overseas, he was honorably discharged with the rank of staff sergeant, in October 1945.
He moved to Talent with his family, and was employed at Olympic Petroleum and Equipment Co. in Medford for the next 20 years.
He married Carolyn Brannan in 1949. They had four children: Teresa, Cindy, Kevin and Michael.
In 1967, Jim and Carolyn purchased a wholesale beer distributorship in Baker City. They continued to operate the business for 26 years, until they retired in 1993.
Although separated for many years, they remained friends and business partners.
Jim was a lifetime member of the Elks Lodge and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a charter member of the Eagles Lodge, and served two terms as commander of the American Legion.
Jim enjoyed fishing and bird hunting. He didn’t know a stranger and always had a beaming smile for everyone he met. Jim had a special place in his heart for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He will be missed by his family.
Survivors include his children, Cindy of Medford, Kevin of Gold Beach, and Michael and his fiancé, Cheryl Guzman, of Baker City; grandchildren, Jacob Henry, Eli Johnson, Bridget Wood and her husband, Richard, Brooke Marsden and her husband, Brian, Michaela Henry and Emily Turner; great-grandchildren, Caitlin and Gwendolyn Wood, Kieran and Alexander Marsden, Dominic Arnold, Lillian Johnson, and Veda Turner; brothers, Patrick and his wife, Penny, of Talent, and Richard of Boise; sisters, Pauline Piquette and her husband, Jim, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Jeanne Spangler and her husband, David, of Olympia, Wash.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father; a beloved daughter, Teresa, who died in 1992; brothers, John, Robert, and an infant brother, Billy; and sisters, Ann Weinhold, Mary McCain and Betty King.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 29, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
