Martin Wayne Henry

Martin Wayne Henry, 69, passed away Friday, September 15th, 2023 at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado surrounded by family and friends. Marti was born in Ames, Iowa on February 15, 1954 and was there for less than a year before his family moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa. When Marti was 8, the family moved to Iowa City, Iowa. During his childhood he learned many skills in construction as the son of an architect - skills in which he utilized throughout his life. Marti’s musical career spanned decades as an international musician. Marti started playing trombone in junior high school and really excelled in high school. It was then that he decided to major in music in college at the University of Iowa. As a band leader from the start, he created jazz groups in high school before performing in college with the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra (now Orchestra Iowa). He then performed with the Great Lakes Rhythm Kings Dixieland Jazz Band in Door County, WI before moving to Hof, Germany as the long time bass trombonist of the Hof Symphony. Due to his jazz background, the symphony made sure to give solos to Marti on any pops concerts during the orchestra season. While in Germany, Marti founded a jazz combo called the Red Main Ramblers, which performed throughout Germany, and even went on an American Midwest tour. He also performed with the Rekkenze Ensemble, a brass quintet that performed chamber music all over Germany and Switzerland. During this exciting period of his life he experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall and successfully integrated himself into a new culture. With the help of his father, an architect, he conceived and fulfilled his dream of building a house with his own hands. As general contractor and hands on laborer, he was responsible for every aspect of construction and coordination. Upon retiring from the Hof Symphony, Marti moved to Lakewood, Colorado to begin work as a Real Estate agent with Keller-Williams. Never one to completely stop playing music, Marti founded the “Jazz Over Easy” jazz combo, gigging frequently in the Denver area while also performing with a number of other jazz groups around the region. In his free time, Marti loved working on, and driving, his 1977 blue MGB convertible, often tinkering on it to keep it in top shape to drive the countless scenic drives through the mountains. An outdoorsman, Marti loved being in nature whenever possible, hiking different Colorado fourteeners (mountain peaks that are fourteen thousand feet), swimming, camping, biking, cross-country skiing, and stargazing, among other things. Over the years, he also became quite the figure skater, training enough to accomplish a toe-loop. Marti also had many woodworking projects over the years, making everything from trivets to cabinets and shelving. On top of all of that, he still managed to make time for swing dancing every month at Buffalo Rose in Golden, Colorado. As Marti would say, he was the most proud of raising his daughter, Carina. He took pride in introducing Carina to a wide variety of foods and recipes from all over the world with his love of cooking. Like all other facets of his life, he put his all into parenting and passed on his integrity, confidence, and empathy for others through her. Marti always found positivity (and often humor) in every situation. As a token of gratitude to his care team throughout cancer treatments, he wrote alternate lyrics to jazz standards for each of them. Another time, he even asked them to record a video of him dancing with his “dance partner” which was an IV pole he was connected to at the time. He cherished his family and friends so dearly. From throwing parties to introduce his German friends to American holidays to making extravagant Thanksgiving dinners for friends, he loved hosting gatherings and parties to help everyone feel included, loved, and seen. Marti is survived by his daughter, Carina Henry; sister Marsha Deane; nephews Drew and Zack Morton (Denise), Henry Deane (Marsha); and nieces Caitlin Tesch and Monica Morton (Denise), Jenn Losiewicz (Darrell) and Lydia Robinson (Marsha). He is preceded in death by his parents, Gloria and Harvey Henry, his brother Darrell Henry, and his sister Denise Morton. Marti touched the lives of so many and he will truly be missed.