Jerry was born on December 13, 1935, in Three Rivers, Michigan to the late Carl Henry Edward and Hilda Sturgis Henke. He grew up in Three Rivers and graduated from Three Rivers High School with the class of 1953. Following graduation he went to work at Kiekhefer-Eddy Paper Company in Three Rivers as a Sample maker and Customer Service. He also joined the Michigan National Guard and served from 1953 to 1964, during which time he attended Armored Officer Basic training at Ft. Knox, KY and OCS. He was honorably discharged as a 1st Lt.
In 1955, along with working at Kalamazoo Container Company as an hourly manufacturing employee, he started attending Western Michigan University School of Pulp & Paper Technology. He attended Western for the following three years.
In 1959, he returned to Three Rivers and began working as a Sales Representative for Weyerhaeuser Company. In 1960, he met and married Patrecia Ann Pfingst in Marine City, Michigan. Shortly after this, they moved to Bremen, Indiana, when he took a job with Consolidated Paper Company as Plant Superintendent.
Jerry returned to employment with Weyerhaeuser in 1964 in their Chicago, Illinois, office in Employee Relations and Training. Here he developed production supervisor training programs and conducted training classes for newly hired salesmen in product knowledge.
By 1966, Weyerhaeuser had gone International and owned 49% of West Indies Paper Products located in Kingston, Jamaica. He was appointed Plant Manager and assisted in the startup of West Indies Pulp & Paper.
In 1972, the Henke Family returned to the United States and resided in Kalamazoo, Michigan although Jerry was working on Manufacturing Services Staff out of Worthington, Ohio. Their stay here was temporary as they soon moved to Bel Air, Maryland where Jerry was Production Manager, Sales Manager, and at one time Acting General Manager of the Weyerhaeuser plant in Baltimore, Maryland.
The final move came in 1979 when he became Production Manager of the Weyerhaeuser Paper Plant in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2000, after a year spent in Shanghai, China building a Weyerhaeuser International Pulp Plant and a total of 40 years, he retired. The next year was spent as a self-employed consultant for Weyerhaeuser. Jerry enjoyed retirement for several years and then went to work at Metrolina Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Charlotte part-time as a Shuttle Driver and Test driver for repaired vehicles. This lasted a year and he went to Exxon Station in Matthews and remained there until it was closed in 2020 shortly after he turned 85!
He was an avid gardener and was most proud of his Green Thumb. His love of plants and flowers was well known and every year his yards showed his loving care as the flowers and trees bloomed.
Jerry is survived by his wife of 64 years, Pat; their four children: Jeffrey Thomas Henke, Jeannette Suzanne Henke, Jerald (JJ) James (Norda) Henke and Jonathan David (Dora) Henke, all of Charlotte. Grandchildren: 2nd Gunners Mate Shelby Hunt (Justin) Hummel, Great Lakes, IL., Suzanne Madison Henke, Iron Station, NC, Jorgia Angelina Henke, Jaxten Ezequiel Henke, Christian Dean Henke, and step-grandson, Dijuan Tyler Williamson, all of Charlotte, NC, Blaize Lynn Henke of Hildebran, NC, 1 Great Grandson, Zephyrus Thomas Henke of Hildebran, 1 niece and 2 nephews and several cousins. He is predeceased by his brother Charles and sister-in-law Gertrude Henke.
Jerry and his family are charter members of Messiah Lutheran Church, Charlotte, North Carolina, where Jerry served as Finance Secretary, Vice-President of Congregation (two terms), President (two terms), Elder, Sunday School Teacher for 8 years, Communion Assistant and Usher. Memorials may be made to The Sunday School Program, Messiah Lutheran Church.
Memorial Service will be on Saturday, May 18 at 11:00 a.m. with reception to follow in the Fellowship Hall, Messiah Lutheran Church, 8300 Providence Rd., Charlotte, led by Pastor Tim Baldinger and Pastor Roger Penny.
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