Henrietta M. Fay

Henrietta M. Fay, 96, of Spring Hill, Florida passed away Friday, January 27, 2017 with loving family by her side. She was born on September 28, 1920 in New York, New York, to Henry and Bessie Zelenko. She had a long and loving marriage to her devoted husband, Harold, and they made their home in New York City where they raised their family and she established her career.

Henrietta was a professional woman before her time and worked as executive secretary to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company in New York City. It was not unusual for one of the ‘top brass’ to comment on her capabilities and note that, had she been a man, she would be running the corporation. And, as CEOs came and went, Hennie remained the conscientious cornerstone whokept things running smoothly. At the end of her long, successful career, Hennie and Harold retired to Florida where she never took the daily sunshine for granted.

Though her career was important to her, family always came first. Hennie and Harold lived in Bayside, NY with her two sons, Jimmy and Donny, whom she cherished; their happiness and success were her priorities. The family spent summers swimming and horseback riding at ranches upstate, and during the school year the boys were expected to work hard. They both excelled and were rewarded with admission to Ivy League universities. When they were young, she encouraged her sons to always be the best they could; she would often say, “If you can get a ‘B’, why not an ‘A’?” And while they might not always have earned straight A’s, both Jimmy and Donny became men of whom she was incredibly proud.

Hennie loved to knit and made countless sweaters, slippers and mittens for everyone in her family. Ever practical, Hennie bought many skeins of the same color yarn so that when her young sons would lose a mitten walking to school, she could promptly knit a new one. All in her family appreciated the beautiful, warm sweaters that she made for them. Others coveted them, but they remained exclusive gifts for those she loved.

In addition to knitting, reading was her other favorite pastime. Hennie was never without a good novel. She stuck with the best sellers favoring legal thrillers, suspense novels and epic family sagas, but she always insisted on a happy ending. Enthralled by the magical world in the Harry Potter novels, she enjoyed sharing the excitement of both the books and the movies with her great-grandchildren. She was particularly amazed by the way the movie producers were able to bring Hogwarts to life. As with her knitting, her passions and enthusiasm were always shared with her family - from her knitting to the M&Ms in her famous jar, which was always full in case anyone wanted to nibble.

Hennie also never missed a chance to send a greeting card to her loved ones, especially her grand and great-grandchildren who were lucky enough to get cards with a little cash for every possible holiday, even St. Patrick's Day! As she got older, Hennie made her own personalized, computer-generated cards which made receiving them even more special.

An intelligent and curious woman, Hennie was always keen to explore new technology. Toward the end of her life, she used to tell her family, “I'm too nosy to go. I want to see what happens next!”. She saw more than a lifetime of changes in our world and embraced every one of them. Hers was the first television in Jackson Heights! (A $700 gift from her generous mother, ‘Gram’, who always lived with the family.) All the neighborhood kids would gather ‘round two nights a week to watch ‘The Lone Ranger’. When co-workers were wary of the new word-processors brought in by the company, Hennie pored over the directions, learned how to use the new technology, and taught the others. She eventually graduated to a laptop computer and an iPad, which she bought at 91 years young. She used her beloved technology to make her greeting cards, shop on Amazon, order Netflix movies and play Words with Friends with her grandchildren who live scattered about the country. Her exploration of new things didn't stop with technology. Hennie learned to drive at age 77, waiting until her husband, who delighted in driving her about, was no longer able to do so.

Throughout her wonderfully long life, but most poignantly at the end, Hennie’s wish for those she loved was that we would “be happy” and "love each other". Thanks to her example, we all know a little bit more about being happy in this world. She was an inspiration to our family, and she will be dearly missed.

Henrietta was of the Catholic faith. She is survived by her son Jim Calkin and daughter-in-law Mary Jane; daughter-in-law Anita Calkin; her four grandchildren Debi, Jacqui (Chris), Nancy (Mark), and Wendy (Joe) and her seven great-grandchildren Michael James (Caitlin), Isabella, Alex, Josh, Brian, Heather, and Natalie. She is preceded in death by her son Don Calkin and her husband Harold Fay. All services will be held at Turner Funeral Home to whom arrangements have been entrusted. Turner Funeral Home 14360 Spring Hill Dr. Spring Hill, Florida 34609. 352-796-9661