Henry remembered as a Tenn. treasure
300 honor Tennessee’s longest-serving member
NASHVILLE - Tennessee’s political world came en masse Friday to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Sen. Douglas Henry of Nashville, remembering a man who was at the center of state politics for six decades and became an institution himself.
More than 300 people — family, friends and state lawmakers and governors past and present — filed into Downtown Presbyterian Church to pay respects to the longest-serving member of the Tennessee General Assembly, a conservative Democrat in the Southern political tradition who members of both parties said epitomized being a statesman and gentleman.
Henry, who served 44 years as a Nashville senator after a previous stint in the state House, died Sunday at 90.
His past Senate colleagues watched Henry’s funeral service from a front pew as the head of the Senate, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and Henry’s sons, Bob Henry and Douglas C.H. Henry, delivered Henry’s eulogy. Each took turns bidding farewell not just to a political force — a protector and guardian of the state’s finances, they said — but someone who had charm, eloquence and an uncanny ability to connect to seemingly all people.
Henry was authentic and kind, they said, and held an unabashed love of Tennessee. They remembered his smile, friendliness, warmth, extraordinary intellect, knowledge of history and courtesy — all of which left an impression with everyone he knew. Above all, they said, Henry sought to help people who couldn’t help themselves, both in his everyday life and the political causes he took up.
“There’s really no way else to say it: We lost an exceptional man this week, a giant,” McNally said. “Senator Henry was great in not only what he attained and accomplished in this life, he was great in character.
“Had he never stepped foot in the Senate to ensure the fiscal health of our state and to advocate for the less fortunate and to preserve Tennessee’s history, he still would have been a great man,” he said. “In my years, I’ve never met another man like Senator Henry, and I’m confident I never will.”
McNally’s remarks were capped with a rendition of the African-American hymn “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” by the hundreds in attendance. Later, bagpipes played as Henry’s casket, followed by his family and friends, was carried outside to downtown Church Street.
Henry’s death came less than three months after the passing of his wife of 67 years, Loiette “Lolly” Hume Henry.
On Thursday, Henry lied in state at the Capitol, the first to hold that distinction since at least the 1930s.
Henry, first elected as a House member in 1955, grew to become allies of Republicans and Democrats alike. The longtime chairman of the Senate’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee, Henry was considered a guru in state finances. He left the state legislature in 2014 but remained a presence at the state Capitol.
Friday was about honoring Henry’s decency, not just his legacy at the statehouse.
“Beyond the elections, beyond the Senate chamber and beyond the podium, Douglas Henry was a man of high ideals and strong integrity,” said his son Bob Henry. “He was a father, an attorney, an intellect and a friend to many. He was always respectful and sincere, and he always placed others’ needs ahead of his own.”
Discussing his father’s compassion, Bob Henry recounted a family trip when his father stopped to sing to a young boy who had a mental disability.
“Instantly, it made the boy feel relaxed and his struggles seemed to drive away for a little.”
Though his father could speak multiple languages and was raised in wealth in Belle Meade, Henry could interact with a wide variety of people no matter their circumstances, Bob Henry said.