Imer Henry 95th

HENRY 95th

Imer Henry turned 95 on June 27, 2019. Imer was born on June 27, 1924, in Monitor, Ore., by Mount Angel. Imer remembers wonderful times, such as hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, with his dad, mom, brother, sister and grandparents until his mother died when he was 5 years old.

At the graveside of his mother, Imer said, “I’ll never see my mother until Jesus comes” as his mother had taught him about death when he was quite young. With that knowledge, Imer kept his faith strong all his life.

After Imer’s mother passed away, his dad became Sabbath School superintendent and taught Imer a verse without anyone else knowing Imer knew it. The verse was “If I could find a $ or a dollar bill, I would send it off to missions as fast as it could go; for they are needing teachers there; my teacher told me so. I can give some now, and Dad can give some more and you and you and you.” Imer always said that verse, and he said it at the Monitor Church for their 100th anniversary when he was 76 years of age.

About the time he learned the verse, relatives in Canada needed someone to run Imer’s grandfather’s homestead farm. Imer's family moved to Canada when he was 8 years old and remained there until he was 13. Imer says, “These five years were a beautiful part of my life.”

“We then returned to the USA, and I went to church school and Laurelwood Academy. I had nearly three years in the U.S. Navy, and then the Lord led me to the most beautiful and spiritual wife, whom I had for 65 years. Her name was Mayetta. We were married on Sunday and attended church on our first Sabbath as husband and wife. Mayetta and I have two sons, Vernon (Gresham, Ore.) and Norman (Clackamas, Ore.). We spent a lot of time in nature with our sons, having Sabbath as a very important part of our life.”