Obituary: Jean V. S. Henry, of Middlebury

Information and photo via Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home

Jean V. S. Henry, who last resided at Pomperaug Woods, Southbury, Connecticut, died Saturday, December 22, 2018, shortly after her 98th birthday and after visits with friends and family.

Her husband Donald W. Henry and her children John and Anne predeceased her and she is survived by her son Paul W. Henry and his wife Susan Hackley, also her son Charles W. Henry and his wife Lynn Franklin-Henry; five grandchildren, Brooke Manfredi (and her husband Kevin), Alexander Henry (and his wife Caroline Winter), Lauren Henry (and her husband Carter Mosch), Noah Henry-Darwish and Autumn Henry-Darwish (and her husband Isaac Stoutenburgh); six great grandchildren Alaina and Benjamin Manfredi, Jack and Ella Mosch, and Eleanor and Genevieve Stoutenburgh; many devoted nephews and nieces, some of whom regarded her as their "second mother"; and step children Zachary Johnson and Daphne Berger (and husband Brandon, and children Brooks and Hudson).

Jean was the daughter of Adrian and Jean Van Sinderen of Brooklyn, New York, and Washington, Connecticut. She attended Westover School, class of 1939, and Sarah Lawrence College, which she left during the war in 1941 to become a Red Cross Nurses Aide at the Brooklyn Hospital.

In 1944 she married Donald W. Henry, who was then a PT Boat Commander. In 1946 the couple moved to Southbury, Connecticut, then Middlebury in 1948, living in their home on South Street for over 60 years, raising their four children - John, Paul, Charles and Anne. Jean remained active in the community all of her adult life, participating in and contributing to her beloved Westover School and the Middlebury Congregational Church, singing in the choir for over 55 years, the Highfield Club, the Comic Opera Group, Hospice and the Visiting Nurses Association, from which she received the John N. Lewis Founder’s Award in 1993.

Her sons Paul and Charles said of her: "Jeanie was a wonderful wife to Don, mother to us, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She was devoted to her community and church, and loved by many. We remember her as ever cheerful and kind." A service will be held at 11a.m. on January 5, 2019, at the Middlebury Congregational Church. Those wishing to make contributions in Jean’s memory may contribute to the Donald and Jean Henry Fund at the Connecticut Community Foundation.