Sen. Douglas Henry remembered as a Tennessee treasure

Tennessee’s political world came en masse Friday to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Sen. Douglas Henry of Nashville, remembering a man who was at the center of state politics for six decades and became an institution himself.

More than 300 people — family, friends and state lawmakers and governors past and present — filed into the Downtown Presbyterian Church to pay respects to the longest-serving member of the Tennessee General Assembly, a conservative Democrat in the Southern political tradition who members of both parties said epitomized being a statesman and gentleman.

Henry, who served 44 years as a Nashville senator after a previous stint in the state House, died Sunday at 90.

His past Senate colleagues watched Henry's funeral service from a front pew as the head of the Senate, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and Henry’s sons, Bob Henry and Douglas C. H. Henry, delivered Henry's eulogy. Each took turns bidding farewell not just to a political force — a protector and guardian of the state’s finances, they said — but someone who had charm, eloquence and an uncanny ability to connect to seemingly all people.

Henry was authentic and kind, they said, and held an unabashed love of Tennessee. They remembered his smile, friendliness, warmth, extraordinary intellect, knowledge of history and courtesy — all of which left an impression with everyone he knew. Above all, they said, Henry sought to help people who couldn’t help themselves, both in his everyday life and the political causes he took up.

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“There’s really no way else to say it: We lost an exceptional man this week, a giant,” McNally said. “Senator Henry was great in not only what he attained and accomplished in this life, he was great in character.

“Had he never stepped foot in the Senate to ensure the fiscal health of our state and to advocate for the less fortunate and to preserve Tennessee’s history, he still would have been a great man," he said. "In my years, I’ve never met another man like Senator Henry, and I’m confident I never will.”

McNally’s remarks were capped with a rendition of the African-American hymn “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” by the hundreds in attendance. Later, bagpipes played as Henry’s casket, followed by his family and friends, was carried outside to downtown Church Street.

Henry's death came less than three months after the passing of his wife of 67 years, Loiette “Lolly” Hume Henry.

On Thursday, Henry lied in state at the Capitol, the first to hold that distinction since at least the 1930s.

Henry, first elected as a House member in 1955, grew to become allies of Republicans and Democrats alike. The longtime chairman of the Senate's Finance, Ways and Means Committee, Henry was considered a guru in state finances. He left the state legislature in 2014 but remained a presence at the state Capitol.

Friday was about honoring Henry's decency, not just his legacy at the statehouse.

"Beyond the elections, beyond the Senate chamber and beyond the podium, Douglas Henry was a man of high ideals and strong integrity," said his son Bob Henry. "He was a father, an attorney, an intellect and a friend to many. He was always respectful and sincere, and he always placed others' needs ahead of his own."

Discussing his father's compassion, Bob Henry recounted a family trip when his father stopped to sing to a young boy who had a mental disability.

"Instantly, it made the boy feel relaxed and his struggles seemed to drive away for a little."

Though his father could speak multiple languages and was raised in wealth in Belle Meade, Henry could interact with a wide variety of people no matter their circumstances, Bob Henry said.

"He was a wonderful man as well as an exemplary and yet ordinary man," he said. "Douglas Henry was simply a good man."

One of Douglas Henry's favorite lines — "Always be kind and true" — was recited multiple times during Friday's memorial service.

Douglas C. H. Henry said he would miss the sound of his father's voice and conversations that began with world events and moved on to theoretical physics, modern poetry and baseball's infield-fly rule.

"I will miss hearing him quote Homer and Thucydides and Caesar and Cicero and yet also speak with the same care and earnestness when he quoted lyrics by Simon and Garfunkel," he said. "I will miss these times, but I will also miss the quiet when we were together that oftentimes was profound."

Henry's charm and character matched the longevity of his political career. Old school in every way, Henry was rarely seen without a coat and tie and greeted everyone he knew by their last name. Known as "Duck" to friends, Henry was often spotted with his signature bright blond hair swooped to one side and a cigar in hand.

The Rev. Mike Wilson, pastor of Downtown Presbyterian Church, said Henry has a legacy of naturally connecting with and responding to people with kindness. He said Henry shared wisdom in his interactions with good humor and “made you feel singularly important.”

"We have been entrusted — all of us — to remember this life that we celebrate today, to continue to tell the stories, to honor the values he stood for and to never forget that intelligence, curiosity, compassion, empathy, generosity, humility and just good plain good manners never go out of fashion," Wilson said.

As a senator, Henry took on a range of causes, including sponsoring the first child seat restraint law in the nation and pushing child abuse reporting and adoption laws. Although Henry was targeted by some on the political left during his final years in office over stances on social issues, Henry also was considered a champion of the environment, conservation, public education and women and seniors.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., governor of Tennessee in the 1980s, said that as a young Republican governor in a then-Democrat-dominated state, he leaned on Henry. He said he tried to recruit Henry to become a Republican in the mid-1980s, but Henry, a staunch Democrat, would have none of it.

“We lost a terrific example,” Alexander said Friday. “We lost a man who put his state much ahead of party politics. We lost someone who respected institutions. In this internet democracy we live in, it’s harder for institutions to function and we need men and women like Senator Henry more than ever.”

Gov. Bill Haslam said the funeral was unique because among those present were Republicans and Democrats, current and former lawmakers.

“It is kind of in a way a passing of an era," Haslam said. "It’s a different day now and we will be a little less for not having Senator Henry."

Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said the service was an appropriate celebration of Henry’s life.

“His sons' remarks really hit the bull's-eye in so many ways. The fading voice of Douglas Henry ... it's up to us to carry forward what he stood for and what he taught us,” Norris said. “And we will.”

Joel Ebert contributed to this report. Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.