Henry, Robert
Robert Henry, 72, of Farmington, Connecticut, passed away on March 27th after a tough battle with Leukemia.
Robert was born in San Jose, Costa Rica to Joise and Owen Henry where his humble beginnings required him to start working at the age of seven (he never stopped working after that). He and his siblings followed their hard-working mother to the United States where they settled in Brooklyn, New York. Arriving at 16 years old, knowing very little English he was thrown into the American education system, which sparked his passion for bilingual education later on. Against all odds, he attended The City College of New York after high school on a soccer scholarship. He often joked that he was more into basketball as a kid in Costa Rica, but coming from Latin America, people just assumed he'd be good at soccer, and they were right. City College was the start of his lifelong journey to make sure that every child had access to a quality education that served them. Bilingual education was his passion, one that led him as a recent college graduate to protest outside of a Brooklyn Board of Education office for more bilingual education resources. Legend has it that in order to get him to stop protesting, the office hired him as an assistant.
This began a nearly 45 year love affair with education, pushing the limits and boundaries of what education systems decide is enough for children, especially marginalized children. His work took him from an assistant to a Superintendent. From District 23 in Brooklyn, to District 12 in the Bronx, throughout Connecticut, Costa Rica, Chile, Qatar, South Africa and countless other places along the way. He led and inspired teams throughout, always making time to mentor and guide. He truly loved supporting up-and-coming educators and felt it was his duty to share as much wisdom as he could to ensure that young educators succeeded and surpassed him. His door was always open. His energy was unmatched and he got as excited about a new project in his 70s as he did in his 20s. A true kid at heart.
His biggest love affair though, was with his wife Gabriela and his kids. He was a constant source of strength, stability and comfort. The best advisor money couldn't buy, who instilled a sense of adventure and joy, regardless of what life threw at him.
His “Pura Vida” approach to life never diminished and it was infectious to everyone that crossed paths with him. His life's work was to get folks to always see the good in people, find common ground, eat well, drink great wine, always have music playing in the background (preferably salsa), break into dance when you feel like it, never hold a grudge, give freely and never ever forget dessert.
Robert is survived by his soulmate, Gabriela Henry, his loving children Daniella Henry-Ferguson and Roberto Henry, his other children, Katie Henry (daughter-in-law) and John Ferguson (son-in-law), his sister Ana Henry, his brother Ronaldo Henry, and his biggest source of joy, his grandson Oliver Henry.