In memoriam: William O.E. Henry.

It was with great sadness that I learned William O. E. Henry--former president of both The Florida Bar and Florida Bar Foundation, a Holland & Knight lawyer for more than half a century, a champion of the poor, and an Eagle Scout extraordinaire--died March 11 after complications from a lung disorder.

Bill was always a caring and giving person, as well as an outstanding lawyer, Bar leader, and dedicated Gator. And while he had a passion for justice, that intensity was always accompanied by a dry sense of humor and a congenial smile.

Henry, 77, of Maitland, was one of the six original associates of what was then Holland, Bevis and McRae in Bartow. Twenty-one years ago, he opened Holland & Knight's Orlando office, after heading the Lakeland office, and retired in January 2005 after 51 years of a distinguished career as a tax lawyer. He died before the firm dedicated a conference room in his name on the SunTrust Tower's 30th floor.

As Bar president in 1983-84, I remember he strongly encouraged his lawyer colleagues to take on the cases of death row inmates on a pro bono basis because no state money was available. Why? He stated it quite succinctly in a 1983 Bar Journal column: "We do a pretty good job with our efforts to improve the administration of justice, but the public thinks the judicial system is not working. They blame the system because it is failing to carry out the death penalty. The Bar has no role in the social and political decision creating the death penalty, but once it is law, the Bar has a responsibility to see that it is carried out."

Though the idea was unpopular at the time, Henry convinced large law firms to handle at least one pro bono case representing a death row inmate. I don't think those firms would have heeded the request if they had not respected Bill tremendously.

As president of The Florida Bar Foundation in 1988, Henry lobbied for mandatory funding to provide legal services for the poor, and succeeded the following year when the Florida Supreme Court made mandatory the IOTA program requiring lawyers to donate interest from client trust accounts to indigent legal services. In recognition of Bill's efforts to improve Florida's justice system, The Florida Bar Foundation presented him with its Medal of Honor in 1996.

Former Bar Board of Governors member John Yanchunis, a Boy Scout himself, noted Bill's receiving two awards that defined his contributions to his community and to scouting: "The Silver Beaver Award, the highest award that can be presented by a Boy Scout Council, is given to a volunteer who has provided exemplary service to the scouting movement. Bill also received an even rarer award--the Distinguished Eagle Award, which is given to an individual who earned the rank of Eagle as a youth, continued to contribute to scouting as an adult, and who also distinguished himself in the community and in his chosen profession and occupation."

Both before and after his term as president, Bill Henry distinguished himself in service to the Bar. A former chair of the Tax Section, he served for six years as a member of the Board of Governors and served as president of the Foundation from 1988-89 and trustee of the its Endowed Trust from 1988-98.

He was a retired U.S. Naval Reserve officer and a former officer in charge of a reserve intelligence unit. Henry earned his law degree in 1952 from the University of Florida, as well as his bachelor's degree in journalism in 1950.

I offer my condolences to his wife, Mary, and to his children Jean, Carol, and Bob and their mother Bobbie Henry; grandchildren Dawson, Will, Jeffrey, and Jesse; and sister Audrey Jensen.

This quiet man who in his youth never intended to become a lawyer but who became a leader in our profession will be greatly missed (especially by the Bar-B-Que gang).