Melvin Henle

Melvin Bert Henle passed away on January 31, 2016 at the Cottage in the Meadows with his family by his side. He was born on July 20, 1933 in Toppenish to Charles and Bird Henle. He spent most of his life in that area. He graduated from Toppenish High School class of 1951. After graduation Mel worked in a meat plant for two years and during this time he was drafted into the Army during Korean War. He came home from boot camp and married his high school girlfriend (Pat Graham) after she graduated. The couple spent the first two years with the Army. Four years later their first child, daughter Tammy was born and then a second daughter, Kim to follow. This was a union that lasted for sixty two years. After being discharged from the Army, Mel attended Yakima Valley College. He worked summers for the Yakima Tribe in fire control. Later he was offered a position being in charge of the Signal Peak Ranger station control teams. The couple raised their family at the Ranger Station in the summers and have fond memories of that time. Later he became employed through the Federal Govt. Bureau of Land Management and retired from this position after 30 some years. He loved his job which was the perfect fit for him. He didn’t like the young men in fire control to be sitting around waiting for a fire call so he instigated fitness training. A favorite part of his job was flying in helicopters coordinating ground crews during the bigger fires. Following his retirement he went to work for Hulyar Construction for roughly seven years until his wife retired. Mel was an avid hunter (both rifle and bow) although he had decided later that taking pictures of the animals was the better way to go. He was an avid camper and fishing enthusiast, mainly fly fishing. He enjoyed belonging to the Toppenish Rifle Team for many years. Mel is survived by his wife of 62 years, Pat (Graham) Henle; daughters Tammy Henle and Kim Henle; grandson Casey (Wendy) Kelly; granddaughter Molly Kelly; great granddaughters: (twins) Kiley and Kendall Kelly; sisters Donna Brost and Shirley Schmidt; brother-in-law Michael (Sheryl) Graham. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Grandma Mitten, and brother Tuffy Henle; and numerous nieces and nephews. We wish to thank Dr. Gabriel Lascar and the North Star transfusion staff, Hospice nurse Tana Church, and especially Dr. Patrick Waber, and the hospice nursing staff at Cottage in the Meadow for their love and care at the end. The family suggests that memorial donations be made to the Yakima Humane Society. A Memorial Service will be held 1:00 pm, Friday, February 5, 2016 at Grace of Christ Presbyterian Church (9SW 8th Ave, Yakima). Arrangements by Valley Hills Funeral Home To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Melvin Henle, please visit our flower store.