that winning smile and friendly advice.”
Jim met his wife of 60 years, Mary Lou
Laslie, the summer of 1953 before his senior year at West Point and
her senior year of high school. She happened to be
the daughter of Coach Carney Laslie, one of the
Academy’s football coaches. Mary Lou was allowed liberal use of the
family car and that made her, as she recalls, very popular among the
cadets. But, according to one West Point classmate, her popularity
was because she was beautiful and “a very special someone.” When Jim
and Mary Lou met at Delafield Pond, it was love at first sight. They
were married at West Point in a beautiful wedding in July 1955.
Upon graduation Jim’s choice was to
serve in the Infantry. After Basic Infantry
training and successfully qualifying in both Airborne
and Ranger courses/programs, he began a challenging and outstanding career of 20
years in the Army. Key assignments included his initial assignment
as a platoon leader in Panama, followed by assignment to the 11th
Airborne Division in Germany and then in Lebanon as aide to an
assistant division commander and as a company commander (1955–58).
This was followed by a tour in the 82d Airborne Division at Fort
Bragg, NC (1958–60).
He received a master’s degree in Spanish
from Middlebury College and spent a year of study and language
immersion at the University of Madrid (1960–61) leading to a
three-year assignment in the Spanish Department at West Point
(1962–65). From 1965 to 1966, he served in Vietnam as a MACV senior
regimental advisor. After graduating from the Command and General
Staff College in 1967, he was assigned to the Office of the Joint
Chief of Staff (1967–70). He served during a second tour in Vietnam
as a battalion commander in the Americal Division (1970-1971). His
final assignment was in the Operational Test and Evaluation Agency
(1971–74). He retired from the Army in 1974.
As with most career Army families Jim
and Mary Lou had their share of family
separations. Jim was notably absent for the birth of
their first child, daughter
Carey, in 1957. In 1958, when their second child, son
James, was born, he was in Lebanon. In 1959, at Fort Benning, GA, he
was in the field when Mary Lou went into labor with their third
child, daughter Elizabeth. Mary Lou was adamant
about not going to the hospital without him. He
didn’t make it home in time to
take her there himself, but he did arrive at the
hospital just in time for the birth.
Notwithstanding these absences, Jim was ultimately a
family man and loved
nothing better than parenthood and all the joys and
challenges that came along
with having four children within a span of five
years.
Following his retirement Jim held a
variety of interesting positions in the DC area. Initially, he was
the director of a high-risk driving school that provided
training for security personnel who were drivers for
high risk VIPs. He was Director of the Concessions Department at JFK
Stadium, and for a time he ran a DC tow truck company. He
settled into his long-term role as a financial planner with the
United Services Planning Association and Independent Research Agency
for life insurance (USPA&IRA) in 1981. He retired from that
organization in 1999.
Jim passed away on January 4, 2016
surrounded by his devoted family. He is survived by Mary Lou,
daughters Carey Henry Keefe, Elizabeth ‘Becky’ Henry Ireland, Mary
Alice Henry Shiflette, son Jim Henry, their spouses, 13
grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Jim lived a life of Duty, Honor, and
Country. His love for West Point never
faded. He attended all of his Class and Company F-1
reunions. His last visit to
West Point was for his 60th reunion in 2014. Even
though he was wheelchair
bound he remained, as described in the 1954
