His father owned several pharmacies, and Hank spent his youth helping out in the store. His work at the pharmacy ranged from soda jerk to being the courier to deposit the weekly earnings at the bank.
He served in the occupation army at the end of World War II and served through part of the Korean War.
He earned the rank of Second Lieutenant. It was during this period that he met and fell in love with his first love, Cherrie Frye, a coed from Kansas attending the University of Denver.
After his military service he completed his education in metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines and at Denver University, and he and Cherrie were married.
His first job after graduation was in Fairplay, Colorado where he was in charge of gold recovery on a dredge before moving on to Silverton where he was head metallurgist for one of areas largest mines.
He and Cherrie then moved to Columbus, Ohio where Hank transitioned from mining-related metallurgy to doing materials science related research. He worked for Battelle Memorial Institute which was, and is, one of the World’s most prestigious materials science research laboratories.
Not finding Ohio to their liking, Hank and Cherrie returned to Colorado where Hank worked for many years at the Denver Research Institute pioneering new developments in explosive forming and welding. He was very active in professional societies and was named Chairman of the American Society of Metallurgists and held various volunteer positions in the American Institute of Metallurgical Engineers.
Hank was a good father and he taught his kids about hiking and fishing, and the family would often spend time at his father-in-law’s cabin in Eldora. His made sure his kids were active in Boy Scouts, Indian Guides and Girl Scouts. He spent many hours working with them on their homework assignments, and instilled a strong work ethic in them.
One of his notable work assignments was to head a multi-year project in Sao Paolo, Brazil to help develop a national research institute. He took most of the family to Sao Palo where his kids, Jeff and Judy, spent part of their high school years.
After his return to Denver from Brazil, he and Cherrie parted ways and Hank soon remarried. The new love of his life, Charlotte, an opinionated New Englander, had 4 children from a previous marriage, and Hank thoroughly enjoyed his role as Grandfather to Charlotte’s grandchildren.
Hank and Charlotte soon moved to Houston, Texas where Hank worked as a metallurgist for Batelle, and then South West Research Institute. Professionally, he transitioned from research into metal failure analysis. He enjoyed that work immensely, and worked on famous cases such as the collapse of the largest oil rig in the North Sea and the hull breach of the Exxon Valdez. He used to joke that he was responsible for the Super-Bowl, having made the call that the Houston Astrodome was safe to play in after a fire damaged it just prior to that year’s game.
Upon retirement, Hank and Charlotte moved back to Denver to be closer to family. Charlotte and Hank enjoyed their life in Denver, and traveled to Europe and around the US visiting with Charlotte’s family in Hawaii, the Northwest and in New England.
After Charlotte’s health began a decline, Hank increasingly dedicated his time to being her care provider, up until her demise.
After Charlotte’s passing, Hank spent time with his kids and grandkids and enjoyed fishing, museums, history, reading and travel. In his last years, he traveled with his kids to Costa Rica and Panama, Canada and the Eastern coastal waters of the US. He also enjoyed his visits with Mary Villalba, Mary and Craig, Katie, Sarah, Vaughn and others in Charlotte’s family.
At the age of 93 Hank passed away from natural causes, and will be sorely missed by his family and friends.
Hank is survived by his sons James and Jeffry and his daughter Judith, and his grandchildren Kira, Talia, Heather and Todd. He is also survived by his brother Oscar and sister Kathy. On his wife Charlotte’s side of the family, he is survived by Carl, Rick, Joan and Craig and their kids Katie, Sarah and Vaughn.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18