Henry’s father was conscripted into the German army, even though he was a conscientious objector. Henry attended school to Grade 4, then worked in child labour factories. Hymns played a part in his decision to accept Jesus as Saviour in his early teens. With the start of WWII, Henry, his mother and his siblings fled to Germany. In 1948, they immigrated to Canada on the Volendam, settling in Kelowna, B.C. Henry’s brother Edward died in a mill accident. With the $1,000 death benefit, the family purchased 2 acres in Winfield, B.C., and lumber to frame a house, which Henry built with help from volunteers. He grew watermelons and raised pigs to feed the family. Henry and Tina moved to Clinton, B.C., then Kelowna and finally Abbotsford, B.C. Henry worked as a janitor and a labourer in orchards and on chicken farms. He did framing and cement finishing. The family enjoyed singing on road trips. Henry loved planting tulips and tending his fruit trees and grapevines. He loved church music so much that he bought and taught himself to play the organ. He never missed an opportunity to help a neighbour or talk about Jesus.
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