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He was a mild-mannered man, but when he spoke, people listened.
Gaylord John Henry was a Rifle icon and to say he was very involved in the community is an understatement.
“If there was a book about Rifle, it would have to have a chapter on Gaylord,” said longtime friend Dee McCown. “He set the pace in town. He was a mover and shaker when I moved out here in 1980.”
Henry died on Nov. 3, 2009. He was 83.
He was born and raised in Big Timber, Mont. to Benjamin Franklin and Erna Estelle (Hearn) Henry. He served in the Army Air Corp. from 1945-46 in China. In 1947, he moved to Rifle and entered into the retail business with his parents, opening the Henry and Son Department Store.
“That store was the anchor store for the JQS center where Ben Rex used to be,” McCown recalled. “It had everything — shoes, clothes and housewares. It was like the Herberger's of Rifle.”
Henry married Phyllis Zarlingo in 1951 and they purchased the store from his parents and opened Henry's Department Store, which expanded to Cathy's Shoppe and a second location at the JQS Center until retirement in 1991.
McCown describes Henry as one of the “pillars” of the Rifle community.
“He was a super guy — a true statesman,” she said. “You would never hear anybody say anything bad about him. The coolest thing about him was that he was real. When he talked, people listened. You respected him.”
Henry helped create the Rifle Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Development Association and was a member of Club 20, the Rifle Creek Golf Course, Metro Park and the Rifle ski club.
Longtime resident and former mayor, John Scalzo, remembers his friend as a man who was easy to get along with and never complained. The two worked together on the Rifle Fire Department when they were in their 30s and 40s.
“We went on a lot of ambulance calls together,” Scalzo recalled. “There were no EMT's. All we had was first aid.”
Scalzo remembered that Henry was a big member of the Rifle Creek Golf Course where he served on the board and was also a charter member of the Elks Lodge.
“It was the early 60's and they opened the golf course and the Elks at the same time,” Scalzo said. “I never heard Gaylord complain. He was a doer.”
Henry loved to fly in his Piper Comanche and helped to establish the Garfield County Regional Airport. H was a member of the United Methodist-Presbyterian Church and was awarded the Rifle Area Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year award as well as the John Scalzo Lifetime Achievement Award.
“He was one of those people who for a long, long, long time, worked for the benefit of the community,” McCown said. “Even when you stop and talked to him on the street, he would talk about the community. He's really going to be missed.”
Gaylord John Henry was a Rifle icon and to say he was very involved in the community is an understatement.
“If there was a book about Rifle, it would have to have a chapter on Gaylord,” said longtime friend Dee McCown. “He set the pace in town. He was a mover and shaker when I moved out here in 1980.”
Henry died on Nov. 3, 2009. He was 83.
He was born and raised in Big Timber, Mont. to Benjamin Franklin and Erna Estelle (Hearn) Henry. He served in the Army Air Corp. from 1945-46 in China. In 1947, he moved to Rifle and entered into the retail business with his parents, opening the Henry and Son Department Store.
“That store was the anchor store for the JQS center where Ben Rex used to be,” McCown recalled. “It had everything — shoes, clothes and housewares. It was like the Herberger's of Rifle.”
Henry married Phyllis Zarlingo in 1951 and they purchased the store from his parents and opened Henry's Department Store, which expanded to Cathy's Shoppe and a second location at the JQS Center until retirement in 1991.
McCown describes Henry as one of the “pillars” of the Rifle community.
“He was a super guy — a true statesman,” she said. “You would never hear anybody say anything bad about him. The coolest thing about him was that he was real. When he talked, people listened. You respected him.”
Henry helped create the Rifle Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Development Association and was a member of Club 20, the Rifle Creek Golf Course, Metro Park and the Rifle ski club.
Longtime resident and former mayor, John Scalzo, remembers his friend as a man who was easy to get along with and never complained. The two worked together on the Rifle Fire Department when they were in their 30s and 40s.
“We went on a lot of ambulance calls together,” Scalzo recalled. “There were no EMT's. All we had was first aid.”
Scalzo remembered that Henry was a big member of the Rifle Creek Golf Course where he served on the board and was also a charter member of the Elks Lodge.
“It was the early 60's and they opened the golf course and the Elks at the same time,” Scalzo said. “I never heard Gaylord complain. He was a doer.”
Henry loved to fly in his Piper Comanche and helped to establish the Garfield County Regional Airport. H was a member of the United Methodist-Presbyterian Church and was awarded the Rifle Area Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year award as well as the John Scalzo Lifetime Achievement Award.
“He was one of those people who for a long, long, long time, worked for the benefit of the community,” McCown said. “Even when you stop and talked to him on the street, he would talk about the community. He's really going to be missed.”
