Francis “Frank” Henrick — a longtime Staples High School educator and coach, and civic volunteer — died August 23 in Florida, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 88.
He grew up in Andover, Massachusetts. After graduating from Phillips Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he earned a master’s degree at Colby College.
He spent two years in the US Army.
Though Frank’s career plan was to become a doctor, when a teaching job became available at Bristol Eastern High School, he was encouraged to apply by his in-laws.
Frank found his true calling to be teaching. He was enthusiastic about impacting young people’s learning. After 3 years in Bristol, he began his 35-year tenure at Staples, teaching chemistry, physics and math.
He also coached baseball and soccer. In 1969, serving as boys soccer interim head coach when Albie Loeffler was on sabbatical, he won a state championship. Twenty years later, as head coach of the girls soccer team, he won another state crown.
He was an avid tennis player and semi-pro pitcher but enjoyed all sports.
Frank Henrick
Frank volunteered countless hours to different organizations, including the Monroe Jaycees; Assumption Church in Westport, St. John’s Church in Old Saybrook, and St. Thomas More in Sarasota, along with Emmaus, Cursillo, Danbury Prison Ministry, Hospice, the Connecticut Club of Sarasota, and the Little Venice Theater.
He and his first wife, Barbara “Bobbee” had 5 children. They shared 44 years raising their family, and building friendships and fellowship. They retired retired to Old Saybrook and Vero Beach, Florida. Bobbee died in 2003.
Frank was then reunited with, and married, his high school sweetheart, Patricia “Patsy” Doyle in 2004. They spent 20 years together, in Sarasota.
His family says: “Of all the accomplishments in his life, he was most proud of and grateful to God for his wife, family and friends. This is where he truly felt alive, or ‘terrific’ as he so often exclaimed.
“Whether hanging with his ‘kids’ and their families, at a Red Sox spring training game with his brother and the ‘old gang’ from New England, at the CT Club with his ‘old’ teacher friendships and newly formed friendships, playing 45s, dining at his favorite restaurants, or simply working in the yard, he couldn’t help but display a magnificent smile.”
Frank is survived by his wife, Patricia Doyle Henrick; sons Michael (Katrina), Jon (Justine) and Stephen (Gail); daughters Cheryl Henrick and Karen Tedeschi; stepson Lyden (Araceli) Anderson; sister Janemarie Henrick; sister-in-law Marilou Petroff; brother and sister-in-law Steve and Carla Petroff; sister and brother-in-law Eileen and Warren Hastings; 16 grandchildren, 6 great- grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. He also leaves his long-time best friend Jim Noonan.
In addition to his first wife, Francis was predeceased by his brother George, sister Ann Mulrooney; sister-in-law Sonya Petroff, and stepson Mark Anderson.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, November 2 (1 p.m., Mill River Country Club, Stratford).
Donations in Frank’s memory may be bade to the Alzheimer’s Association.
I well remember Mr. Henrick, a truly nice guy who treated students like adults. Godspeed.
I had Mr. Henrick for my freshman geometry class at Staples. It was the very first class I had on my very first day as a Staples freshman, having just moved to town. He was an impressive teacher.
I remember feeling shocked when he provided his home address and telephone number on the first day of class. His number was available for homework questions, and his address was provided because any homework turned in before midnight was considered on time.
I made more than one late-night trip to his front porch on Evergreen Parkway that year to turn in homework.
I thought of him the other day when a coffee pot was left simmering all day in our office break room. The smell of burnt coffee was unmistakable and memorable in Mr. Henrick’s shared office at Staples.
May his memory be a blessing.
Mr Henrick was my pre-algebra teacher – bless him for his patience, outstanding sense of humor and excellence in teaching- he was the best !
A very, very good man. An outsized influence to me
In many ways. I say this despite him cutting me from the BJHS baseball team. To be fair to Mr. Henrick, I was an absolutely terrible baseball player.
Welcome to the club, John D. Coach Henrick cut me from the Staples varsity baseball team, after starting the first five games, via a posted note. He would later suffer a “mutiny” of his team when half of them went to Bermuda on spring break, ’66. I must say he was a good coach but his success, in two sports, would come later in his career. To his credit, I was all field, no hit. Semper Fi.
Carl (Scoooter before Dan started dictating what you can call yourself) I’m sorry you got cut. But I suspect that the true reason for your latent hostility was that he was in the army and you were in the navy. As a Marine I learned to rise above such petty grievances. We are all brothers and sisters when we take the oath even though a single Marine can prevail over both a soldier and a sailor with one hand tied behind his/her back.
Is not “Marine” and “learn” an oxymoron?
Scooter,
You WANT me on that wall.
You NEED me on that wall.
My condolences to the family… Mr Henrick was one of the best… truly a class act
Frank Henrick taught the AP Chemistry class at Staples in 1969-70. He had an incredibly light touch — indeed, his lectures often seemed scarcely prepared at all. But we were expected to design our own laboratory experiments, and to analyze our results critically, with estimates of variability and sources of error at least as important as getting the “right” answer. I still remember the thrill of learning the physics of rocket propulsion and deriving the “rocket equation” for my final class project! Truly great preparation for a career in science.
I will be forever grateful to Mr. Henrick for finding a way to help me pass physics (extra credit project). I was otherwise a good student, but physics confounded me and he went the extra mile to find a way for me to redeem myself. I think that knowing I was the field hockey team co-captain (who came to class with stitches in her chin after one game) may have indicated to him that I was up to the challenge. He helped me with understanding and creativity – rest in peace, Mr. Henrick.
I never had Mr. Henrick for a class and I wasn’t a soccer player but here’s the neat thing: I used to pass him in the hall all the time or see him in other places and he always greeted me by name. That’s pretty awesome in a school that at the time probably approached 4000 kids. I didn’t know his academic and professional background was so impressive but I’m not surprised. He really was a class act in a lot of ways.
I had Mr Henrick as a baseball coach and teacher he was excellent at both. Really helped me with my slider. RIP Mr Henrick.
In a nutshell, as a perhaps typical self-centered teenager, I was frustrated as the the 1969 Staples varsity soccer season—my junior year—unfolded. I had been a starter on prior teams and now was not seeing that much playing time—and certainly not in significant game situations when the game was still on the line.
And what made it more frustrating for me that was I had a number of classmates/friends who were in the starting lineup—and deservedly so I might add.
So…I decided to approach Coach Henrick and request a transfer to the intermediate squad so I could get more playing time in real game situations. I thought that would be more helpful to my development, not to mention more fun.
Coach Henrick’s blunt response: his first duty was to the team as a whole and he thought I would provide far more value to the Staples soccer program coming out to varsity practice every day instead of playing with the intermediates. He said that, in particular, I provided good competition against the first team when we did scrimmages (which we did a lot of back then) and that it helped prepare the first-stringers for games against quality teams.
As for my personal development: he said I was much better off playing against the first team in scrimmages and otherwise practicing with and against the first-stringers in drills than I would have been playing in games and practices with the intermediate squad.
Of course, he was absolutely right on both counts. And there’s no question I continued to make real strides as a player by being with the Staples varsity the entire season in 1969.
I thankfully conveyed my appreciation to Coach Henrick about this years later as a hopefully more mature person.
As a new teacher at Staples i experienced Frank’s welcoming colliegiality. He was great. The Henricks kids were great, too. My deepest condolences to them and their family on this sad news.
RIP frank and my condolences from Michael Krein, class of 67 and many years varsity swim coach. He was elite among an elite group of teachers in that 66-75 group of young, dynamic and so involved teachers who not only knew how to teach, but how to be young. Men and women role models. He was my chem teacher and for years I taught AP Chem I hoped I was as effective and involved as he was with us. I believe that staples rose into an elite, highly respected high school under the tenets of teachers like frank. He was missed and now can be recognized. RIP and thanks. Do you all remember some of the other incredible teachers from that time?
Too, too many to count. I remember you among others I looked up to as a role model to younger kids. It was a simpler time.
Staples seemed like a huge school as it was about 2000 in three grades back then, but as you pointed out, the teachers knew you and recognized you by name not just a number. Did you have teachers named: chalk, pope, king, gorgis,Harrington, Harrison, laddy Lawrence, etcetc. Hi Eric.
Five out of seven not counting you Mike. You and Laddie each counted twice because you did double duty at the Y and Staples. To be honest, the Y and Mahackeno were more fun than Staples.
Frank Henrick (my colleague) was a perfect example of what we would wish every educator would be. Wise, kind, thoughtful, fair — thoroughly decent — and committed to young people. His professionalism left an indelible impact upon me. I’m certain that I was one of hundreds whose life was enriched by knowing this absolutely fine person. Frank left Staples H.S. — and the world — better than he found it.
Nothing like losing Mr. Henrick to facilitate memories. I spent more than a few “sessions” in your office Mr. Selverstone trying to figure out why everything was so screwed up. You were a “port in the storm.” Being a teacher, a student and especially a guidance counselor at Staples in those days of the 60’s and 70’s was not without its challenges. At least we didn’t have cellphones. We had Jim Calkins which enabled our success.
I remember Frank well—he had by far the coolest homework policy whereby we could submit homework up until midnight at his house on Evergreen Avenue and it wouldn’t be considered late. I think I submitted everything between 11:50 and 11:59pm—didn’t hurt that we lived just a few houses down the block.
My favorite memory of him occurred in our physics class—he walked in, picked out a girl in the front row (I still remember her name but won’t embarrass her here) and just blurted out “I’m really attracted to you.” She turned beet red, and then he continued, “It’s not my fault. I just feel an incredible attraction to you that I can’t turn off.” As she squirmed in her seat, he then proceeded to the jock sitting next to her and said the same thing. We were all so puzzled until he revealed that he was talking about gravitational attraction. I will never forget gravity because of you, Mr. Henrick. I owe my love of physics to you and Mr. Rhodes, two incredible icons of teaching who inspire my own career.
Thank you for being one of the all time greats! May your memory live forever and your spirit lift all who had the great blessing of knowing you or learning from you. You are loved.
I was very lucky to grow up in Westport, attending Staples
HS, and playing in a great soccer program. In my senior
year Frank took over for historic Coach Albie Loeffler. It is always difficult to take over a program but Frank took it all in stride with discipline and humor, and led us to the 1969 CT State Championship. For many of us this was a highlight of our lives. Frank made a significant difference in my life and the Most Improved Player Award he gave me is cherished. I went on to be a College Professor and Collegiate Soccer Coach. The influence he had on his players and students will not be forgotten! RIP Frank.
It is with deep respect and gratitude that I remember Frank Henrick. He taught me chemistry at Staples. Mr. Henrick was unique in his ability to instill confidence in his students, nurturing a sense of self-assurance that lasted far beyond the classroom. His teaching style made even the most complex subjects accessible and enjoyable, transforming what could have been daunting material into something memorable and engaging.
For more than 50 years, Staples High has been ranked among the best schools in the nation, and Mr. Henrick played an integral role in that distinction. He was recognized not only for his exceptional teaching but also for the positive impact he had as a role model to countless students and his fellow educators.
Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. Thank you for sharing Mr. Henrick with us all—his legacy lives on in the many lives he touched.