On the afternoon of Friday June 26th, 2015 Henry Vernon Jenkins transitioned to heaven to be with the Lord. Henry lived a full life with by friends and family. He loved to laugh and smile. He loved to help others. He enjoyed sports, going to the movies and watching old westerns. He loved music and singing. He would often just break out in song or you would hear him humming a familiar tune. He loved to cook and you could often find him making homemade sausages, breads, smoking meats and making the best sweet tea…everyone enjoyed his food. Much of that food was grown in his own garden. And anyone who was blessed to know Henry knows that he loved to talk and tell stories. He had a passion about life and his experiences and would share that passion with all he met. He especially liked to share his belief in God and often ended his conversations with people he had just met with an invitation to come to his church, Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Henry was born on October 23rd 1938 in Ayden, North Carolina. Through the army he left North Carolina and spent the majority of his enlistment overseas in Europe. His experience in the military sparked his love of travel and he has seen much of the world. The military also brought him to Fort Lewis where he fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and fell in love with Carrie Maxine Ervin to whom he was married for 48 years. They were inseparable.
He retired from a 38 year career as a USDA meat inspector (of which he was one of the first African American inspectors in the state). He also was very involved in his community both while he was working and after retirement. He was an active leader in the high school program called Young Life. He was a devoted member of several churches including True Vine Missionary Baptist Church and Peoples Institutional Baptist Church. And for 36 years Henry was a devoted member at Mount Zion Baptist Church where he had been involved in numerous ministries including 26 years on the Diaconate. He and his wife were also the state sponsors for Hal Jackson’s Talented Teens International of Washington for 25 years, where they were blessed to touch the lives of many young people in this area. After retirement, Henry also volunteered at the airport where he was able to assist those needing help. He was also involved in Bible Study Fellowship.
There will be a Celebration of Life ceremony for Henry on Saturday, July 4th, 2015 at 10AM at Mount Zion Baptist Church. There will be a viewing at Dayspring and Fitch Funeral Home (5503 Rainier Ave. S. Seattle) on Thursday July 2nd from 3PM – 8PM and at Mount Zion Baptist Church at 9:30AM prior to the service on Saturday. The interment will be at the Tahoma National Cemetery (18600 SE 240th St. Kent) on Monday, July 6th 11AM. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Henry Vernon Jenkins Memorial Scholarship fund at Mount Zion Baptist Church. Donations can be sent to PO Box 78316, Seattle, WA 98178 and should be made out to Mount Zion Baptist Church. Visit www.facebook.com/henryvernonjenkins for more information on Henry’s life.
He will be missed by all who loved him, including his wife Carrie Maxine Jenkins, daughter Eu-wanda Jenkins Eagans (Jae), son Ahmed Jenkins, brother Johnny Jenkins – NC ( Jackie), sister Linda Owens-VA (Frank), cousin Lillian Durr-NC and many other family members and friends.
