I am sure all of you know that Senator Douglas Henry passed away March 5 after an exemplary career of service to Tennessee in the state Senate. 

A friend of his told me that someone once asked him how he wanted to be remembered... and he simply said, “I just want TO BE remembered.”  

So in his honor I would like to remember some of the things he did for Williamson County. While he was not my senator, he was very influential and many causes were dear to his heart. 

Years ago, after a police dog was shot and killed in the line of duty, Senator Henry came out to a fundraiser we were holding in Williamson County to help us raise funds to purchase bullet proof vests for police dogs. 

When Tennessee’s historic dry stacked stone walls were being bulldozed down due to growth and development pressures, Senator Henry first sponsored a resolution helping to educate everyone about the historic, scenic and cultural significance of these walls. Then the next year he passed a bill which provided some protection for them. That led to his help securing TDOT enhancement funds to rebuild the stone wall along Hillsboro Road by Berry’s Chapel. The salvaged stones had been stored at the Williamson County quarry and the Dry Stone Conservancy rebuilt some of that wall along Hillsboro Road. 

Another issue I took to him was the animal cruelty issue of hog/dog rodeos. practice of putting a de-tusked hog in a ring with many dogs was starting to take place in Tennessee and in the other southern states. His comments on the Senate floor were recalled in an article the Miami Herald wrote remembering him at his passing. Needless to say he said it wasn’t a fair fight for the hog. He was all about being fair.  

He was there for me and for anyone who asked him for help. He was instrumental in passing legislation protecting our state’s scenic rivers, including the Harpeth River. 

He adored history and seemed very pleased when I asked for his help in nominating the Old Natchez Trace to the Tennessee Preservation Trust’s Top Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties List in 2014. The Trace was named to that list and one of the last things he did for us was to come out to the Old Natchez Trace to deliver a Joint Legislative Resolution commemorating the Natchez Trace and citizens efforts to protect and preserve it. He sat in a farm gator for some pictures and he was smiling. 

His final words on the floor of the Tennessee Senate, he said he learned in Sunday school, 

"And they sound so perfect coming from this honest, humble, honorable man."  

He said, “Goodbye everyone, be always kind and true.” 

I lament that statesmen of Senator Henry’s caliber are on the critically endangered list. Senator Henry was always kind and true and will always be remembered.