Richard J. “Chief” Henry, 81, of Kenosha, passed away on Thursday, December 14, 2017, at Ascension All Saints Hospital of Racine.

He was born in Kenosha on June 3, 1936 and was the son of the late James E. and Helen (Hodal) Henry.  Richard attended St George Catholic grade school and graduated from Kenosha High School.

Richard proudly served in the U.S. Army National Guard 32^nd Division as a Sargent from 1958 until 1961.

On August 6, 1960 he married Barbara Davis at St. Anthony Catholic Church. They were blessed with four children and 57 years of marriage.

His 33 year career at AMC/ Chrysler comprised of being a material handler as well as the Chief Steward of Department 842 for 25 years. Richard was a member of UAW Local 72, Local 72 Retirees, the United Way and a Tennessee Squire.

He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who was extremely proud of his family. Richard was an avid sports fan-especially the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Cubs and was thrilled with the Cubs’ World Series 2016 Championship. He was a loyal Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan since the team’s expansion in 1976. Richard’s baseball team- Mid-City Fruitland- won the Kenosha City Championship in 1960. He loved cheering on his grandsons’ teams in baseball and football.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Barbara; children, Ann (Dave) Heiring, Cindy (Steve Beets) Fickenscher, Gina (Scott) Lehrke and Jim Henry; eight grandchildren, Rachel (Jered) Reinersman, Daniel S. Fickenscher, Milwaukee, WI, Eric Lehrke, St. Louis, MO, Olivia Lehrke, Cameron Henry, Jordon Henry, Jake (Sarah) Heiring and Matt Heiring and three great grandchildren, Ethan and Jillian Reinersman and Lilliana Heiring.  He is further survived by his siblings in law, Jerry (Nancy) Davis, Betty (George) Propsom, Racine, Joan (Gary) Skovronski, Coconut Creek, FL, Tom (Carrie) Davis, Cabot, AR, Irene Powers, John (Nina) Davis, Honolulu, HI, Marilyn (Tom) Brabec, Cloquet, MN, Marion Bontekoe, Cheboygan, MI, his aunts Ann Klem and Stephanie Montemurro, many nieces, nephews, good friends and his canine buddy, Sawyer.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his aunts, Mary T. Otto and Mary Jane Greno and his uncle, Rudy Hodal and his father and mother in law, Maurice and Ethel Davis.

Chief’s family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at Froedtert South and Ascension All Saints- Inpatient Rehab as well as Dr. Ziarko, Dr. Sivadasan and Dr. Jay for the loving care they provided.

Service Info

Funeral Services honoring Richard’s life will be held on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at the Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home., 3720 39th Ave., Kenosha, WI.