Mike Henry

May 1, 1936 – April 4, 2021

John Michael (“Mike”) Henry, Moses Lake native and longtime Seattle-area contractor and businessman, passed away on April 4, 2021, at his home in Henderson, Nevada, after a months-long illness.

Born in Denver, Colorado, on May 1, 1936, to John Freeman and Della Frances (neé Millikin) Henry, he grew up for young life on a five-acre Kitsap County “farm” and after 1951, in Moses Lake. He fondly recalled serving as the bat boy for the Poulsbo VFW baseball team in the post-war years. Baseball was his favorite sport, and he excelled as a high school player, both at North Kitsap and Moses Lake high schools (Class of ’54), and later at Central Washington State College. While at MLHS, he was the host of weekly local radio show, “Teen Tune Time.”

Mike learned to fly in Moses Lake at age 17, and private aviation became a lifelong passion, piloting aircraft until he was 83. Mike loved Eastern Washington, and he spent many summer days pulling skiers on Moses Lake, or watching the Methow River run by the house he built near Winthrop in the early 1980s.

Mike followed his father and grandfather into the HVAC business, and he became the owner of Moses Lake Sheet Metal after his father’s death in 1963. Later, he owned John Henry’s Renton Sheet Metal and TRC, Inc. in the Seattle area. Mike was active in the Sheet Metal Air Conditioning National Contractors Association, and in the 1970s was a member of its national negotiating committee. In his last years, he was still working as a consultant in the power generation business, and had a hand in the development of many projects throughout the West. Travel was a lifelong pursuit, and he saw a lot of the world, with favorite places being Hong Kong and the Amalfi Coast.

He is survived and lovingly remembered by daughter Kellanne Henry of Kirkland; son John Todd Henry (Theresa Cuthill) of Bellevue; grandchildren Melissa Henry and John Galen Henry; great-granddaughter Amelia Henry; sister Deborah Henry Spina (Ron) of Auburn and a host of relatives on both sides of his family. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Perry Bruce Henry.

At his request, there will be no formal service. The family is planning an informal remembrance reception for a time after the current restrictions are eased.