Henry "Hank" Herman Germer Jr.

Hank Germer, a resident of Bremerton, Washington, passed away on October 11th, 2025 at the age of 82. Hank was born in Portsmouth, Virginia as a wartime baby to a Navy family. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Hank also knew one of the great secrets of life – it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Early in his life, his parents moved his two brothers and sister to Millbrae, California. During these formative years in the Bay area, he developed his love for “toys” and all things with horsepower. When he turned 17, his father helped him into the family business and signed him up for the Naval Reserves. When he graduated high school, he transferred to active duty. Although the pay was lousy, he was eventually able to purchase his first truly memorable car, a ’61 Corvette.

Later, while serving in Pearl Harbor, he fell in love with a tourist from Canada. He knew her less than a week before proposing. She turned him down initially, but ultimately relented. He married Heather Stewart on December 17th, 1966. They had 49 wonderful years until her passing in 2015.

Hank and Heather had a son, Allan, in 1969. In the pre-kid days, Hank had the Corvette, a ’65 GTO, and a ’55 Thunderbird. After Allan was born, it was a Corolla, a Celica, an F-150 and later an F-250 pickup. It wasn’t until 1987 that they bought an IROC Camaro. But Allan didn’t suffer too badly in his childhood as Hank always had boats and campers and even a couple of dirt bikes. He was always taking the family out to enjoy the outdoors with many friends.

Hank’s military career spanned nearly 20 years in the Navy. He was especially proud of his “Dolphins” and service in the submarine fleet. After retiring from active duty as a Chief Petty Officer, he worked in the defense contracting industry. He soon completed his undergraduate degree that he previously started in the Navy. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree. He would later add a Master’s in Systems Engineering Management.

Hank was thrilled when his son and daughter-in-law, Debbie, gave him two partners in crime – his grandson’s Spencer and Ethan. He tried to corrupt them with a golf cart with monster tires, a four-wheel ATV, and other temptations. He loved taking them camping in the RV.

In 2019, Hank was lucky to find love again. He married Glenda Anderson. They often went to the beach with their two dogs Angel and Jazzy. They drove to waterfront communities to lunch at their favorite restaurants. But mostly they enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Hank is survived by his current wife, Glenda, son Allan (Debbie), grandsons Spencer and Ethan, brother Charles, many nieces, nephews, cousins and their families.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 pm on November 9th at Christ the Rock Community Church in Port Orchard. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (or Canada).