Johnie William “Bill” Henry, 89, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, passed away on September 6, 2026, surrounded by those who loved him.

Bill was born in 1936 in a two-room log cabin without electricity or running water in Dustin, Oklahoma, within the historic Muscogee Nation. The younger of two sons born to Eugene Rolley Henry and Lucille Mary Eldridge Henry, Bill grew up alongside his older brother, Joe. His childhood was shaped by the hardships of the Great Depression and included a period in California, where his family moved for work. As a boy and young man, Bill worked in the oil fields and drove a truck. These early experiences reflected the determination, independence, and mechanical ability that would shape his life.

Bill went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tulsa. Early in his career, he worked as a contractor with North American Aviation and contributed to the Apollo space program. His family took great pride in knowing that the boy who began life in a two-room cabin in rural Oklahoma ultimately helped make humanity’s journey to the moon possible.

The larger part of Bill’s engineering career was devoted to nuclear power plant construction and maintenance through his work with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Mohawk Electric. His career and life took him to communities across the country, including California; Oswego, New York; Decatur, Alabama; and Kingston, Clarksville, Hendersonville, and Gallatin, Tennessee.

A proud citizen of the Muscogee Nation, Bill carried with him a history rooted in family, perseverance, ingenuity, and hard work. He was a member of Christ Methodist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. In retirement, Bill enjoyed traveling abroad with his wife, Shirley, particularly to places of historical and spiritual significance. Together, they visited the Holy Land, Tibet, Nepal, South Africa, and other destinations around the world.

Closer to home, Bill was an avid card player and a devoted fan of the Dallas Cowboys and Vanderbilt football.

Bill is survived by his wife of 10 years, Shirley McGee Henry. He and the late Nancy D. Henry were the parents of four children: Patrick W. Henry; David (Yuka) Henry; Diane (the late Jeffrey) Brewington; and Connie (Raulices) Fernandez. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Sion and Emma Henry, Dylan and Ryan Brewington, and Phoebe and Henry Fernandez.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Lucille Henry; his older brother, Joe Eugene Henry; Nancy D. Henry, the mother of his children; and his son-in-law, Jeffrey Brewington.

Bill’s life carried him from a two-room log cabin in Muscogee territory to an engineering career that included contributions to the Apollo space program and decades spent helping construct and maintain nuclear power plants. Yet as proud as his family is of all he accomplished, his greatest legacy is the way he treated people. Bill always did his best for those he loved, and he readily helped people who needed him. His children can honestly say that, in all their years with their father, they cannot remember ever seeing him commit a mean or cruel act toward anyone. That simple truth says more about the man he was than any list of achievements ever could.

Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at Hendersonville Memory Gardens, Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 353 E. Main Street, Hendersonville, Tennessee. A memorial service will immediately follow at noon.