It is with sadness that I share the news that we lost a member of our community this week. John F. Henry, 77, died September 26, 2020, at his home in Kansas City, MO.
He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012 and was informed in early September 2020 that it had transformed into non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. John elected to forego chemotherapy and to spend his remaining time at home under hospice care.
John was the son of Forrest J. and Beulah R. Henry (née Richard) of Red Hill, PA. He attended Upper Perkiomen High School and graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1965. He subsequently attended McGill University, Montreal, receiving his M.A. in 1967 and his Ph.D. in 1974. He taught at California State University – Sacramento from 1970 through 2003 and thereafter at the University of Missouri – Kansas City until 2014. He finished his academic life as senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute, Bard College, New York.
John made contributions to heterodox economics, particularly in the fields of history of economic thought, economic history, and political economy. He is the author of two books, John Bates Clark (Macmillan, 1995) and The Making of Neoclassical Economics (Unwin Hyman, 1990; reprinted by Routledge, 2011). He published over 50 journal articles and book reviews in Journal of Economic Issues, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, History of Political Economy, Forum for Social Economics, Review of Social Economy, Review of Political Economy, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, History of Economics Review, and Studi e Note di Economia. He also contributed articles to ten books of collected essays.
The CSUS School of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies awarded Dr. Henry the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1998 and the Outstanding Service Award in 2003. In 2001 he was selected by the university to deliver the John C. Livingston Annual Faculty Lecture, the highest honor bestowed by the faculty of that institution.
John served various economics associations for many years, including as president of the Association for Institutional Thought, member of the Steering Committee of the International Confederation of Association for Pluralism in Economics, and member of the editorial boards of Forum for Social Economics and Journal of Economic Issues. More important than his published work was his role as educator. His main objective in his teaching career was to help liberate the minds of students from the shackles of conventional thought.
John was married to Charlene Heinen, originally from Loose Creek, MO, for 41 years. He has two daughters, Jennifer Woods (Tom) and Leith Henry, both of Sacramento, CA, from a previous marriage to Barbara Henry (née Brode) of Sumneytown, PA. Predeceasing Dr. Henry were his parents and two sisters, Mary Jane Maley and Georgianna Kressly.
Commemorative donations may be made to the Frederic S. Lee Heterodox Economics Scholarship Fund, in care of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Kansas City, MO (https://gkccfonlinedonations.org/give/leeh00.asp).
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Many AFEE members have shared their memories of Dr. Henry to our discussion email list over this last week, and we are sharing some of these here as well.
Several members expressed gratitude for Dr. Henry’s support of young scholars in his time as a teacher, whether they were the recipient or observers of his guidance. Geoff Schneider and John Watkins noted that “he was so giving of his time and energy with younger scholars,” and Deb Figart noted “how he gave of his time and talents to students and AFEE.” From Tonia Warnecke: “John was one of the first scholars that provided encouragement to me when I was a PhD student trying to figure out how to progress with my research. He was so supportive, and along with his great critical thinking he had a great sense of humor.”
Many others also noted Dr. Henry’s enormous contribution to evolutionary economics. From Michael Keaney: “John’s book The Making of Neoclassical Economics ought to be core reading on any history of economic thought course. His portrayal of the intellectual struggle against the labour theory of value is as fascinating as it is damning.” But his contributions extend beyond his own work in his collaboration with other scholars to help make their work better. Glen Atkinson wrote, “many of us sent manuscripts to review before we submitted them for consideration of publishers. He was generous with his time. He amazed me that he could sit in session after session at a conference and ask such penetrating questions in such a pleasant manner.” And from Dave Zalewski: “his work is inspiring and his help in developing my own has been invaluable.”
But most of all, our members remembered their friend. Nearly everyone had something to say about Dr. Henry’s sense of humor, and several recalled discussing baseball with him, whether or not they shared his love of the St. Louis Cardinals. From the professional to the personal, and everything in between, it is clear that Dr. Henry was a well-loved man, and he will be sorely missed.
We at AFEE express our condolences to Dr. Henry’s family and friends, and we invite you to share your own memories in the comments below.