Henry Gustav Ahlquist

Henry Gustav Ahlquist was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 16, 1937 to Swedish immigrant parents, Thorston and Ellen Ahlquist. He was the second of two sons. At 20 years old, Henry joined the Army, beginning the first of his many travel adventures throughout the world.

On May 26, 1962, Henry married Lorraine Beese. They welcomed their first daughter, Arlene in 1963 who was followed by Lynn in 1965, and Henry in 1968. Shortly after little Henry was born, the whole family was transferred to Phoenix, Arizona where American Express, Henry’s employer, had decided to open an office. While working for AMEX, Henry and Lorraine were able to travel quite frequently which helped feed his need to see and learn all he could. Also during this time, Henry went back to ASU to get his bachelor’s degree while working full time. Every summer the family would do a big vacation trip that consisted of camping across the western United States. When they weren’t camping, they were enjoying weekends at the cabin in Strawberry, Arizona. Henry also enjoyed hunting, fishing, rock collecting, reading, painting, and writing. In 1981, he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming to work for a company that worked with collectible stamps and first day covers, another interest he had cultivated since he was a boy.

Henry retired early in order to move to Oregon and continue his travels; however, shortly after he retired, he lost his wife Lorraine to cancer. While grieving in Oregon, Henry met his second wife to be, Nancy Kelley. They continued to travel and finally moved to California, where they remained until his passing.

Henry leaves behind his wife, Nancy, children Arlene (Garth) Seagraves, Lynn (Frank) Kraft, and Henry (Robin) Ahlquist, grandchildren Nyssa Hodo (Colby), Kyle Kraft (Heather), Ashley Ahlquist, Sally Seagraves, Jacob Ahlquist, and Rachael Ahlquist, and great grandchildren Sadee and Emma Kraft and Braiden, Colden, and Chloe Hodo.

“How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”

A Graveside Service for Henry will be held Friday, April 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM at Phoenix Memorial Park & Mortuary, 200 West Beardsley Road, Phoenix, AZ 85027.