DeAnna Marie Henry

DeAnna Henry, born in Phoenix, Arizona on March 3, 1959, left us way too soon on May 31, 2021 at her home in Chandler. DeAnna was lucky to find her partner early in life, marrying her high school sweetheart on April 22, 1977. She is survived by her husband, Tim, her sons, Christopher, Nicholas, and Justin, as well as her grandchildren, Sarah, Ethan, Payton, Tristan, Dylan, and Bryn.

When you think of DeAnna, the first thing that comes to mind is family. She was the glue holding us all together. She was a devoted wife, Mom, and the best Grammy anyone could ever wish for.

Her oldest sister, Jacque, shared that when DeAnna was just a baby she was very frail, so their mom kept her in a bedroom drawer to allow the entire family to watch over her. Undoubtedly, those experiences of family protecting each other and watching over each other led to her fierce belief that she was responsible for watching over the entire family. Her youngest sister, Risa, nailed her personality perfectly when she described DeAnna as loving, honest, and ferociously loyal. While it was hard to get into DeAnna’s circle, once there, there was no getting out.

Tristan, DeAnna’s 11year old grandson, paid her the biggest compliment a grandparent could wish for. Doing an art project, he drew an abstract cube with all kinds of lines intersecting inside the cube. When asked what this meant, he stated the cube represented the family and all the lines were family members and where they intersected was Grammy.

As hard as these times are, her love for family brought us all back together. Her Daughter In-Law, Megan, who has been part of the family since she was 15,let us know DeAnna mentored her like her own daughter. She helped her become the mother and woman she is today.

For DeAnna, family was not simply limited to blood relatives. Instead, she protected and watched over anyone in her circle. For example, as a proud military wife, DeAnna made sure countless Airmen had a home away from home. Realizing young Airmen were sometimes alone and without any family support when stationed away from their homes, DeAnna was always the first to offer a hand and open her home to them.

DeAnna’s legacy is, without a doubt, the love she had for her family. She loved with all her heart and every family member felt it. She will be remembered by every single person she touched. She treasured watching her children and grandchildren play sports and was there to support them rain or shine; even chemo and COVID could not stop her. Everyone knew how important this was to her; when she was in hospice, her boys made sure she could still be there by live streaming games into her home so she could still cheer them on. She stayed engaged to the very end, though it was never about her; it was about the family. She fought her battle against cancer with courage and grace. While it would be easy to say that she’s left a huge hole in everyone’s heart that could never be filled, that just isn’t true. Instead, she loved freely and unselfishly ensuring everyone around her will always be filled with her love and light.

Services will be held Friday, June 11, 2021 at San Juan Diego Catholic Church, 3200 S. Cooper Road, Chandler, Arizona 85286. The rosary will begin at 9:30am with a mass following at 10:00am. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Hospice of the Valley. Their help and support during those last days cannot be measured.