Cecil Bennett Henn

Cecil Bennett Henn slipped into eternity on Friday, March 4, 2022, at Swiss Village in Berne, Indiana.

Born April 22, 1930, to Anna May (Bennett) and Owen Carl Henn in Liberty, Ohio, Cecil graduated from Jefferson Township High School in 1948. He married Donna Marlene Liles on June 14, 1950 -- the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

Cecil's father was drafted into the Army during WWII, making Cecil the sole breadwinner for his family and requiring him to get a driver's license at the age of 14. He earned money for the family by working as an usher at a local drive-in theater. Through high school, Cec sold ice cream novelties from a mobile cart in addition to the ushering job. After graduating high school, he took a job in the clerk's office at NCR. He worked a short time on an assembly line for General Motors, then back to NCR, enrolling in night school classes in engineering offered there. Following that program, he earned an associate's degree in engineering from the University of Dayton, continuing to work at NCR, but as a detailer in the engineering department. Soon after, he followed an opportunity to work as an engineer with United Shoe Machinery Corporation in Xenia, Ohio. While with United Shoe, he was given the opportunity to sit for the Professional Engineers test. He was one of the last to be qualified to take the test without a bachelor's degree in engineering. When United Shoe closed their research lab in Xenia, Ohio, he took a job with Sheffield Corporation in Dayton. Later, ExCello Corporation out of Detroit, Michigan hired him as Sales Manager. For one year, Cecil worked in Detroit and came home to Dayton on the weekends. Not wanting to move his family to Detroit during those turbulent times, he was able to move his division to one of their satellite companies in Berne, Indiana. He loved Berne and the people there. He worked as the sales manager at Micromatic Hone (ExCello) for 2 years before becoming Chief Engineer and then General Manager. As a part of his work with ExCello, he went all over the world trouble shooting and training those who had purchased the machines they built. A few of those destinations were Turino, Italy; Armenia; and Moscow, USSR. In 1981, he was reassigned to Detroit, so he and his wife moved there. The next move was to Wasseon, Ohio and then to Springfield, Vermont until he returned to the Midwest in 1989. By 1990, Cecil began consulting work and developed several useful tools to help a variety of business models. He did that until he was well into his 80's. As a consultant with International Executive Service Corp (IESC) he provided businesses help across the globe, notably, Ukraine and Thailand, traveling with his wife, who was often assigned to teach English to the natives. They made many friends on these assignments.

As a couple, Cec and Donna traveled to over 50 countries and all 50 states of the U.S. As a young man, he was a Boy Scout Leader. Many of those scouts became lifelong friends who continued to go on adventures for decades, climbing mountains, shooting rapids, and spelunking (caving). As a young father, the family tent camped in 48 of the 50 states and visited many interesting places. He took grandsons on mountain climbing trips to Mt. Washington, Long's Peak, Mt. Whitney and Pike's Peak. In 2009, He and his wife drove to Alaska, making sure to visit Denali in late fall. He was a Golden Glove boxer through high school, a Sunday School teacher for most of his life and was a member of The Gideons along with his wife for many years. Music was important in his life, playing bugle for the Scouts and harmonica since he was young, keeping one in his car within easy reach so he could play as he drove, often during family trips as the rest of the family sang. For 41 years he sang bass in the Messiah and other oratorios given by the Mennonite Choral Society in Berne as well as singing with The Edelweiss Singers under the direction of Donovan Gerig. He was a member of the Engineers Society in Fort Wayne and judged many science fairs there.

He is survived by his wife, Donna Marlene Henn of Berne, IN; children: David Cecil Henn of Santa Rosa, CA; Rhonda Faye Henn Lehman (Steve) of Fort Wayne, IN; and Conna Jane Ann Henn Leitz (Luke) of Weston, FL. Eight grandchildren: Jesse Michael Henn, Jamey Lazarus Henn (Trisha), Robert Bennett Lehman (Christina Rodifer), Erica Nicole Lehman Downey(Clark), Brittany Paige Lehman Bennett, Alexander Grant Lehman (Emily Goodwin), Mark Francis Leitz (Dalia Mahmoud Hassan Elamin), Gabriel Joseph Leitz (Alexis Afton), seventeen great grandchildren Alex Michael Lattimore, Lauren Kate Lehman, Henry Steven Lehman, Miranda Bennett Lehman, Andrew Isaiah Downey, Olivia Nicole Downey, Michael Steven Downey, Elijah James Downey, Luke Hudson Downey, Jackson Clark Downey, Milo Wayne Flueckiger, Elliana Claire Lehman, Julia Faye Lehman, William David Lehman, Noah James Leitz, Jonah Joseph Leitz, Victoria Frances Leitz and 3 great-great grandchildren. His brother Dr. Dwight C. Henn of Georgetown, Texas, his sister Dr. Joan Elaine Henn of Knoxville, Tennessee.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Angela Joy Bollinger VerPloeg.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 10, 2022, at First Mennonite Church in Berne, Indiana with Pastor Jeff Linthicum officiating. Burial will follow at M.R.E. Cemetery in Berne.

Family and friends will be received from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at the Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel in Berne and one hour prior to the service on Thursday at the church.

Preferred memorials are to The Gideons International or First Mennonite Choral Society.

Arrangements by Zwick & Jahn Funeral Homes, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel in Berne, Indiana