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In Memoriam
Lawrence Henry, 1948-2009
The death of an American (Spectator) original.
(Page 2 of 3)
"What do you like, Larry?" I asked him.
"Oh," he replied, "I think I like it all."
Such openness to the vast wonders of the world is a rare thing, to be sure, and an example we would all do well to follow. Larry, friend, I hope you found what you believed was waiting for you on the other side. I'm going to miss you.
******
Jeff Jacoby
Larry Henry was a great talker, but the last time I saw him he couldn't speak. That was on New Year's Day, when my wife Laura and I went to visit him at the Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. He looked miserable and uncomfortable and more than a little frustrated with all the tubes and monitors he was hooked up to, and with the struggle to breathe through his tracheotomy, and with the exhaustion that comes from pushing an ailing and defective body through an endless gauntlet of medical care and hospital stays.
"How are your boys?" he mouthed soundlessly. I filled him in on the latest. In the 10 or so years we'd known each other, we had exchanged countless emails and had conversations on every topic, but above all on the delights and puzzles of fatherhood. Like Larry and Sally, Laura and I have two sons; our youngest, like theirs, was adopted from Guatemala. It was politics and current events that first sparked our connection -- Larry contacted me out of the blue one day with an idea for a column about Christian conservatives -- but it was the common experience of raising sons that turned an acquaintance into a friendship.
I asked Larry one time what he thought of suspending reading privileges as a punishment for a bright, book-loving kid -- my older boy, Caleb -- who was misbehaving in some egregious way. He replied by describing the sort of discipline that had worked with Bud, his oldest -- and how completely flummoxed he was to discover that it had exactly the opposite effect on Joe, his younger son. "Obviously, I don't know a thing," Larry emailed. "And I'm not qualified to offer advice on Caleb." He offered a few suggestions anyway, then wound up with: "It's hard to say, and no one knows but you. And if you ever want to discover how little you really know about kids, just have another one."
"Don't know a thing"? Larry knew more things, and lived a life brimming with more experiences, than any three people I can think of offhand. From writing advertising copy to running a local paper, from playing in a rock band to OD'ing on the Golf Channel, from losing his kidneys to finding God, there seemed to be nothing Larry hadn't done, nothing he couldn't turn into a timely and topical column. Every columnist in America had something to say about Sarah Palin last fall. But only Larry Henry could have produced "Memories of Wasilla," his recollection of carousing and taking flying lessons in Sarah Palin's hometown. "We haven't had anyone so interesting on the national scene in a long, long time," he wrote in that column. You could almost say the same about Larry.
*****
Jeremy Lott
A great mass of people, from parents to priests to professors, believe that there is nothing more tragic than the death of a child. Some thinkers even hold out a child's death as proof against God's existence or at least his -- sorry, His -- goodness.
Me? I've always found failed second chances far more depressing. A child might make something of himself. A second chancer made something and lost it for some reason. The act of him getting that back can be far more interesting and inspiring than the stories of those people who seem to rise through life without effort.
Apologies for the morbid thought but Larry Henry died this week, many years after his kidneys and their replacements had quit. This was both expected and not. I find it unbelievably sad.
About the Author
Wlady Pleszczynski is editorial director of The American Spectator and editor-at-large of AmSpec Online.
About the Author
Shawn Macomber is a contributing editor to The American Spectator.
About the Author
Jeremy Lott is editor of RealClearBooks.com and RealClearReligion.org and associate editor of RealClearScience.com.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III is associate editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (73) | Leave a comment
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Rick Parker| 2.13.09 @ 6:23AM
This is heartbreaking news. I've followed Larry's journey through his columns for several years now and have always been amazed at his cheerful attitude. I'll really miss his outlook on life.
Is there a way we can send our condolences to his wife and children?
Craig| 2.13.09 @ 6:25AM
A sad day indeed....his thoughts in his final days were so encouraging to me. I will miss him. Rest in peace.
Bill Lannon| 2.13.09 @ 6:35AM
I am devastated. I too have been a faithful reader and admirer of Larry Henry for years. His wit and courage were inspiring. As the years passed and he revealed more of his history, I was amazed at the scope of his experience and the wisdom he drew from it. I will miss particularly that feeling that a friend was in each and every column.
Were TAS to compile a collection of his work, I would buy several copies in a heartbeat.
My condolences to his many friends and especially his family. May he rest in peace.
Melvin| 2.13.09 @ 6:58AM
God speed Lawrence, now that you are beginning your next journey free of pain and want. I'm sure Saint Peter will be looking forward to your next article.
Will P| 2.13.09 @ 7:22AM
I always loved his column, but I had no idea so many other people felt the same way. His introspectiveness was somehow moving - how many columnists can be described in that way?
Jim| 2.13.09 @ 8:19AM
Lawrence Henry's poignant columns on his kidney disease led me to offer a kidney as a non-directed donor. Thanks, Lawrence, for making me a better person; you will be missed.
Doug Sjostrom| 2.13.09 @ 8:57AM
I'd been a long time reader and fan when I introduced myself in an email as a "Fellow Exile in Massachusetts" living in the next town. Larry was home recovering from his quadruple bypass. I was surprised to receive an invitation to visit him at home which I did shortly thereafter. We took a short ride around the more historical parts of North Andover in my newly restored MGA. It was a brief visit that left me wanting to spend more time. Much more. Godspeed Larry.
Paul| 2.13.09 @ 9:26AM
Truly a loss for us Am Spec faithful.
Mimi Evans Winship| 2.13.09 @ 9:39AM
He had barely entered middle age,
This well crafted and beloved sage.
Through his pen were years of gems begotten.
He will clearly never be forgotten.
Anastasia Mather| 2.13.09 @ 9:41AM
This is sad news. Another great light gone, a man who knew what a man's life consisted of mistakes and all.
As another commenter said, a collection of his writings would be snapped up.
Ned| 2.13.09 @ 10:20AM
I try to read something from American Spectator at least a few times a week. I always look for Lawrence Henry, lately with a sense of hope. When he is not present I go looking, with continued hope, to the archives to see if I have missed a column.
Today I found him front and center. It will be a sadder day for me, but also a reminder of the greatness of the human spirit, a gift from God.
Anthony| 2.13.09 @ 10:21AM
A funny and witty man with a greater sense of purpose than just to himself. We will miss you. Godspeed.
Lou| 2.13.09 @ 10:41AM
I have been dreading this day.
How is it that someone I knew only through his writings could make me feel I had a friend in him? What an exceptional man he was.
Vern Crisler| 2.13.09 @ 11:21AM
I had been wondering what had happened to Lawrence Henry. I hadn't seen any of his columns recently and I thought about writing AmSpec last week to ask how he was doing. I was afraid he wasn't doing well.
Unfortunately, the disease he wrote about so poignantly caught up with him and took his life. Those of us who followed his pain, his disappointment, and his grace can take courage from a life so well lived and a death so well endured.
I am not afraid to die, said St. Augustine, for we have a kind Lord.
Marie| 2.13.09 @ 11:23AM
I feel such a profound sadness reading of Lawrence Henry's death. Loved his writtings. Will miss him big time. May he rest in peace and God bless his family!
Bill Croke| 2.13.09 @ 11:51AM
Larry, R.I.P. And best wishes to his family.
Paul Petersen| 2.13.09 @ 11:51AM
Lawrence was a such a great distraction from the drum beat of political jousting we all get revved up for at TAS. It was always refreshing to hear his personal reflections on life, leisure, family, faith and friends. His perspective will be missed.
Paul
Sam Haldi| 2.13.09 @ 11:54AM
God bless you Mr. Henry. Thank you for enriching my life and allowing me the gift of reading your writing.
Charles Hutchinson| 2.13.09 @ 12:11PM
I am the twin brother of Lawrence Henry's dad'
Just why he became L.H. instead of Larry
Hutchinson is part of who is was. I never quite
knew. We re-connected about a doz. yrs ago. I'm
so glad we did! I visited him in NJ and Boston.
Eric| 2.13.09 @ 1:14PM
I will miss Mr. Henry’s columns which were a joy to read. His style was calm, clear, humble and just plain old enjoyable without the shrill and vapid commentary that plagues many online magazines and newspapers. My condolences to his family and friends
IMKessel| 2.13.09 @ 1:40PM
Mr. Henry's life was an inspiration.
Now may his memory be a blessing.
Rest in peace.
ruth| 2.13.09 @ 1:51PM
Mr. Henry, you will be sorely missed. I've loved reading your many fine columns over the years and have considered you a friend. I am glad that you no longer suffer and that you are in the Lord's hands now. Rest in peace, sir.
Rose | 2.13.09 @ 2:05PM
I do hope you will do a compilation of Lawrence Henry's very fine writing, wit and wisdom. It will be timeless in the manner of E.B. White. God bless his wife and sons and all of his friends who must now endure the silence left behind.
David Hanson| 2.13.09 @ 3:58PM
Over the years Larry Henry's words at TAS have delighted my soul. Now his soul joins the "great multitude which no man can number...standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Rev. 7:9)" Let's not weep, but rejoice for Larry's victory over death--and trust in the same Lord Jesus as Larry did that He will reunite us with Larry someday.
Alan Brooks| 2.13.09 @ 4:18PM
as more members of the patrimony pass on, the sadder life gets.
and then we have to make life up (play it by ear) as we go along-- that is mostly what we're doing.
Alan Brooks| 2.13.09 @ 4:22PM
...and life with less solid conservatives is not more serendipitous, it is more anarchistic.
not the same thing.
regards and comfort to his family.
Pingback| 2.13.09 @ 5:03PM
New Paltz Journal » Blog Archive » Lawrence Henry, a damned fine writer, has died links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Alan Brooks| 2.13.09 @ 6:41PM
chance favors the prepared, not the wild
John | 2.13.09 @ 11:33PM
Whoa. Thanks so much for the lovely tributes to Lawrence Henry. I've only known him through his wonderful writing. Wish I could have known him as "Larry." I have a very few special friends who remind me of him. There's not time enough in a single lifespan to find more than a few such. Thanks so much. My family's prayers go out to his family.
Merlin| 2.14.09 @ 12:56AM
I'll miss him, also. Condolences to his family.
Alan Brooks| 2.14.09 @ 8:00PM
no wonder life gets gnarlier, all the good people die off.
stmichrick| 2.15.09 @ 11:55AM
Wow. What a loss.
Go to the 'Contributors' page. Click on 'Lawerence Henry.' Start reading the columns.
What a goldmine.
What a loss.
Faffnir| 2.15.09 @ 8:57PM
Lord, have mercy on the soul of Lawrence Henry. He was a good writer. I envy his talent. He will be missed.
Robert L.| 2.16.09 @ 3:52AM
Go now, my brother. Your trials are over. I wished that you had one more recovery in you; you will be missed far more than you allowed yourself to believe. When they are old enough, I will tell your boys of what a real and true friend their father was. In the end, really, there is nothing more than this.
So I hope you are in a place with all the cigars and cheap opinions you could ask for, effortlessly breathing clouds and sweet dreams while someone else besides you feels obligated to smack those guys in the mouth. Maybe now, finally, you'll have enough time and enough air to practice your clarinet. No more excuses. I mean it.
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