Robert Meade Henry, 72, of Bethesda

>>News Alerts: Subscribe to a free email newsletter: BETHESDA•ROCKVILLE • SILVER SPRING

Robert Meade Henry was born March 23, 1943 in Taylorville, IL, to Elizabeth Abigail Colean Henry and Robert Paul Henry. He was very involved with the Boy Scouts, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He accepted a scholarship to attend Carlton College where he majored in Astronomy and minored in Economics.

After graduating from Carlton College in 1965, he enlisted in the Army where he was known as Hank. He did his basic training in Ft. Sill and then went to Officer Candidate School at Ft. Belvoir. He served three years in the Army Corps of Engineers as a lieutenant in Karlsruhe Germany. Upon completion of his tour, he was accepted to the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, earning his MBA in 1970. During his first job in Chicago he met his first wife Gail Hunt and they were married in 1972.

He accepted a job with the then fledgling Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) in 1973 in Washington DC, eventually serving as treasurer. Bob and Gail’s two children, Michael and Maggie (Margaret) were born and raised in DC. Bob also worked for a savings and loan company in the late 1980’s and served as the treasurer of Youth for Understanding in the early 1990’s before retiring.

In 1995 he married Dorothy Chase Barthelmes, whom he met at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation (RRUUC) in Bethesda, where he was a long time member and volunteer. He also did significant volunteer work for the Unitarian Universalist Affordable Housing Corporation in Washington DC.

Bob was a consummate lover of opera and classical music. He and Dorothy also enjoyed traveling. After his father died when he was in junior high school, Bob was taught to play bridge by several neighbors and the game became a life-long passion. His love of bridge led him to achieve a Gold Life Masters. He also enjoyed golfing in his retirement.

Bob was diagnosed with glioblastoma in March of 2014. He worked valiantly to overcome the disease and its side effects until a new tumor was detected in April 2015; surgery was not successful in alleviating the primary symptoms, and he entered hospice on May 2. He died on May 9 at home in Bethesda MD.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy and her children Robert Stevens and Buffie Webber; his sister Nancy Dare and her children Charlie Dare and Carrie Blevins; his son Michael Hunt Henry and his wife Skye Wallace Henry; his daughter Maggie Hunt Henry and her husband Hamish Brian Crombie, and grandchildren Walt Clark Henry, Celia Bess Crombie, and Rosara Noelle Crombie.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 17 at 3pm at RRUUC, 6301 River Road, Bethesda MD 20817. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to Smile Train (he too was born with a cleft lip: http://www.smiletrain.org/) or the United Negro College Fund (http://www.uncf.org/)

— Information from the Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Homes website.