Henry Delano Fields

He was born April 18, 1949 in Louisville, Kentucky to Jack and Ada (Hutchinson) Fields. They moved to Tampa when Henry was one year old. Henry joined the Navy in 1966 at the age of 17 and proudly served his country for four years. On May 10, 1969 Henry was involved in a boiler room explosion on the USS Dewey. Being the only survivor in the room, records show that without regard for his own safety, he prevented more serious damage to the boiler and the ship.

After the Navy, he worked for UPS and a mechanic for the post office until he started driving his own truck cross country and then drove gas tankers throughout Florida. He was also a truck mechanic for Cumberland farms and Penn Tank line until his retirement in 2011.

Henry enjoyed his hobby on talking on his ham radio, known as Hank KB4AKF and his love of drag racing his mustang with his many friends.

Henry touched many lives with his boisterous personality that will never be forgotten.

Henry is survived by his wife of 27 years, Carmen; his daughter, Kandi Bailey of Dade City and his son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy & Jessica Fields of Kent, Washington; stepdaughters, Bethany Garcia of Ridge Manor, Florida and Lisa Pouler of Warwick, Rhode Island; brothers and sisters-in-law, Robert & Eileen of Zephyrhills, Florida, William & Joyce of Land O’Lakes, Florida, and Mike & Jeanie of Land O’Lakes, Florida; sister, Tammy of Zephyrhills, Florida; 11 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews.

We are very grateful for the care Henry received through the Tampa VA and VA Home Care team.

There will be a Celebration of Life with food and fellowship at 1:00pm, Sunday, December 17, 2023 at the Ridge Manor Community Center at 34240 Cortez Blvd, Ridge Manor, Florida. Please bring your best Henry stories, as Henry enjoyed hearing and telling a great story.