Born in Hildesheim, Germany in 1923, Henry was a hero in the full sense of the word. He escaped the Nazis when, at the age of 16, he came to the United States with a rescue program, leaving his parents behind for an uncertain future. He became an American citizen, was inducted into the United States Army, and went to war. Stationed by coincidence near his hometown when the war ended, he learned that his parents had been sent to the concentration camp Theresienstadt. He commandeered a small plane to fly to Czechoslovakia, where he found them alive and liberated them just as a typhoid epidemic descended. He brought them to safety first to Hanover, Germany and then to New York City.
While he identified strongly with his German heritage, he passionately loved his adopted home of America, where he celebrated his freedom every day. After a successful business career in the city, Henry moved full time to Austerlitz, N.Y., where he published his pride and joy, Homestyle Magazine. He was an avid lover of music, serving on the Board of the Berkshire Bach Society for many years. He quoted Shakespeare whenever the opportunity arose, but Goethe was his deepest source of inspiration. He specified that the quote at the end of his memoir, which he dictated to his daughter in his final months, was not by Shakespeare, but by Goethe:
“Ihr glucklichen Augen, Was je ihr gesehn, Es sei wie es wolle, Es war doch so school.”
“Your happy eyes, whatever you have ever seen, no matter what, it was so beautiful.”
He passed away peacefully at Geer Village with his family by his side. He is survived by Edith, his beloved wife of 66 years; his daughter; Claudia, his son-in-law, Joe; his grandchildren, Hannah and Eli; his step-granddaughter, Suzanne and her wife, Allison; and his great-granddaughter, Arlo.
A funeral service will take place on Friday, July 7, 2023 at 10 a.m. at Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230. The burial service for immediate family will follow at Chatham Cemetery on Cemetery Road in Chatham, N.Y. To send remembrances to the family, please visit the funeral home’s website.
