Obituary of William Richard Henley

William Richard “Dick” Henley, 71, passed away on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in his home in Olympia, Washington, from complications related to Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia. He was born March 19, 1950, to Thomas Sidney Henley and Delia Maria Gonzalas in Toppenish, Washington. For most of his life, he lived in the Yakima area, before moving to Olympia four years ago.   

Dick graduated from East Valley High School in 1969, and married Laura Mae Liniger on June 13, 1970, at the Allwardt Ranch in Moxee, Washington. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1969 to 1976.   

Professionally, Dick was a labor foreman with several contractors, including Bechtel and Peter Kiewit & Sons at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, where he worked the annual outage maintenance, helped construct the #2 reactor, the Maintenance and Storage Facility (MASF) at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), the Tank Farms, and the Vitrification Plant. He also worked on the Yakima Water Treatment Plant. He supplemented his income doing auto body repair with Bill Gunnyon in Toppenish, including painting his 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. He loved fishing, hunting, searching for treasures along any beach, and going to yard sales and pawn shops. Dick looked forward to volunteering as a bartender at the Moxee Hop Festival each year, where he’d tell the best stories and jokes. He always had a larger-than-life personality—“The only Dick in the room.”   

He leaves his wife of 50 years, Laura Mae Liniger; daughter, Darlene Jenell Bartlett (Matthew); son, William Richard Henley II (Kelly); grandchildren, Kylie Bartlett (Robb), Bailey Williams (Ethan), Kolton Pippins, and Hannah Bartlett (Tyler); brother, Thomas Jack Henley (Pauline); sister, Virginia Gail Young (Larry); and many friends, cousins, in-laws, nephews, and nieces. He was predeceased by his parents and his beloved dachshund, Precious.   

Memorial donations may be made to UW Medicine Memory and Brain Wellness Fund online at https://www.acceleratemed.org/give/?source=mbrain     

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, May 15, 2021, 1:00 p.m. at Brookside Funeral Home and Crematory, 500 West Prospect Place, Moxee, WA 98936. (509-457-1232)

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