Born May 26, 1936 to Paul Clay Henry and Lucille Marie Breaux, Herman, better known to all who loved him as «Henry,» would like to let everyone know that his work here on earth was complete on Sunday, August 30th, 2015. At 5:40 am he received his call to join the Lord.

His new place of residence comes with many benefits and bonuses, and he is very excited to be there, though he hated to leave us all behind. Upon his arrival, he had a reunion with family and friends he has not seen for a long time, including his wife JoAnn Henry, his father, mother, and siblings Paul, Lucille Pauline and Theresa Henry, and his best friend Billy Kitchens.

His new mission takes him to a wonderful place where there will be socializing, dancing, gardening, and gold panning to his heart’s content. Music, laughter and love are guaranteed with the best gumbo, frog legs, and sweet potato pie ever (a few of his favorite dishes!).

He will be greatly missed by his son Craig, daughter-in-law Tonya, daughter Cheryl, and son-in-law Albert, as well as his four grandchildren: Travis, Amber, Cody, and Danielle. He is also survived and missed by his five brothers, Brud, Harry, Robert, Roy, and Daniel Henry, and five sisters Thelma Richards, Dorothly Chalene, Yvonne Brooks, Jeannett Walker, and Kathy Hagan. Since his work here is done, there will be no more horses to break, bulls to ride, oil wells to drill, buildings to demolish, or bridges to build – some of the many jobs he did will here with us.

He lived a very full and exciting life while here on earth. At a young age,
Henry and his brother Roy caught baby alligators with crab nets. They planned to sell them. It was a great plan, until the mama gator got wind of it and jumped up and bit the crab net in two. This didn’t stop Henry and Roy. They moved on to hunting larger gators to sell instead. Several of his brothers joined in this endeavor.

Henry also started participating in the rodeo at age 16. He decided he needed a moustache to look a little more manly; unfortunately, all he could grow was blond peach fuzz, so everyone called him «Fuzzy» and it stuck in the rodeo circuit. He was known as Fuzzy from then on. Fortunately for him, he didn’t need a moustache to look manlier. Henry’s rodeo accomplishments eventually earned him a silver belt buckle that he wore for the rest of his life. Besides rodeo, Henry and Roy also worked on cattle drives together. A book was written about their cattle drives called Louisiana Cowboys.

Henry was drafted into the Army in March of 1959. While stationed in California, he met the most beautiful woman named JoAnn Long, who happened to be visiting her sister there. They got married in August of 1960.
Henry was eventually stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington until his service was over in February 1961. JoAnn and Henry had their first son, Craig, in July 1961. Four years later, their daughter Cheryl arrived. Henry still rode in the rodeo, but mostly for fun, and also raised cattle and horses at his house on 170th Street in Portland, Oregon. He worked as a plumber until he joined the union and worked in construction. Building many of the old high rise buildings in the City of Portland, he also was a huge part of building the 205 bridge between Oregon and Washington. He retired from construction in 2001.

When his wife JoAnn passed away in June of 2003, Henry stayed active with dancing at the VFW, and was also a member of the American Legion and the Gold Panning Association of America. Gold panning was one of his passions, as well as camping with the family. He loved to go to the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, and spent much time in the hills and deserts of Oregon.

His passing has left a big hole in all his loved ones lives, and we are all thankful we had the last year we did with him after he survived a stroke at his home in July of 2014. We would like to give special thanks to the five angels who helped us give him and such good quality of life during his final year: Karen Kitchens, Mia Zelaya, Sandi Thompson, Amber Carmack, and Carla Velador.

Services honoring Henry will be held at Omega Funeral Home, located at 223 SE 122nd AVE, Portland, OR 97233 at 1:00 pm Friday the 4th of September. There will be a viewing from 10:00 am -12:00 pm for those who wish to come see him. Service will include an honor guard to commemorate his military service to our country. There will be a private interment at Willamette National Cemetery.