Frederic Hybert Henry (aka “Bert”) died on the evening of September 25th in Star Tannery, Virginia from the effects of Lewy Body Dementia. He was 82 years old.

Born in Connecticut to Robert and Lois Henry, his family moved him as a child to McMinnville, Oregon; Bremerton, Washington; and Carson, California. He later settled in the greater Washington DC metro area, and finally resided in Ohio -- Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, and Navarre.

Fred spent a couple years in the US Army, then attended Occidental College and Linfield College to earn his BA. At Penn State University, he earned both his Masters degree and a PhD in Biophysics. There he also met Sandra Rauenzahn, who he married soon after. On joining the US Navy, he spent nearly 10 years doing medical research at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He then held positions in various federal agencies. Upon his retirement, he moved to Ohio with his third wife, Stefanie Weddle (since deceased), and remained there with his “forever fiancée” Virginia Manacapilli.

Fred will be remembered for his brilliance, his love of the outdoors (walking, jogging, and canoeing), contradancing, ham radio, intense reading (everything from scientific papers to Readers Digest), playing the Boogie Woogie on any keyboard he passed, and his avidity in helping his three daughters with their science fair projects—generally by making them very complicated but scientifically rigorous. He loved fixing things as well as collecting unfixed things, which he surely would have gotten to if only he’d had a few more lifetimes. Eagerly, he would engage any listener in long, detailed descriptions of emerging technology, and he had a knack for describing the function of complicated systems so that anyone could understand. His handsome presence in uniform was matched only by the brightness of his smile when something delighted him. He will be missed for his long-extended, warm hugs, which he delivered with a comforting, low murmur of pure happiness.

He is survived by his long-term partner Virginia, his ex-wife Sandra, his daughters Danielle, Vail, and Nicole, his son-in-law Charlie, his brother Bob, his sisters Liz and Sue, his six grandchildren Rachelle, Jackie, Rafael, Cody, Reese, and Liam, and several nieces and nephews.

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