Birth date: Jul 20, 1934 Death date: Sep 2, 2024
Mecosta – John David “Dave” Henry, 90, of Mecosta, went to his heavenly home, surrounded by his loving family, on September 2, 2024. Dave was born on July 20, 1934, in Otsego, the son of John David and Viola Maude (Newland) Henry Read Obituary
Mr. Henry was one of my first instructors for field surveying and boundary theory. He had a way of making the survey problems easier to understand and turn around and use in the field. We did not have computers back then and had to do survey calcs using logarithms which was not fun. So he let us use the office machine to run the math for our final survey field problem. He will be missed.
Tom Ferguson
I was a student at Ferris in the early 80s. Mr. Henry was one of my teachers. When I look back at my career, I would count him as one of those key people who made an impact on my career. He had the ability to connect with the students in a way that made learning more of an adventure instead of a required task.
I have a very vivid memory of him standing in front of class with a new calculator (Sharp El-5100) trying to teach a concept and understand a new calculator at the same time. He struggled a little bit, but finally figured it all out. I'm sure that was not part of his lesson plan, but the end effect is that I have remembered that particular class for decades. Mr. Henry's demeanor and knowledge combined to make him a professor that I enjoyed very much.
I'm sorry I did not get the notification until after his funeral. I would have liked to have been able to tell him "Thank you".
It was my great honor to work with Dave as a colleague for nearly thirty years in the Surveying Engineering Program at Ferris State University. He always was a voice of reason, calm and wisdom, had a great outlook and profound respect from the students he taught. This couldn’t be more evident than seeing over half a dozen of his and my former students in attendance at his funeral paying respects to their former professor and mentor.
Like his dear family, Dave will be missed by his FSU colleagues, former students, and community friends that he so fondly cultivated. May God bless his soul and grant fortitude to his family and friends to cope with his absence.
Sayed Hashimi, FSU Professor Emeritus
Dave was one of my instructors at Ferris in the early 70’s. I learned a lot through him, graduating in 1975 with one of the first full classes to go through the Bachelor’s program. He gained the respect of the students and was instrumental in my career as a Surveyor. My condolences to his family.
We are so sorry for your loss. As former students of Dave Henry we had the opportunity to get to know him outside of the classroom when he would play chess against his students. Sending our thoughts and prayers. Jozann (DuCap) and Donald Burgin
The Ferris State University Emeriti Association sends its condolences to the family of John David.
Chuck Drake for FSUEA
