Heinrich “Henry” Hobrath, beloved husband, father, Opa, brother, uncle, cousin and friend to many, passed away on January 29, 2024, at the age of 83.

Son of Jacob Hobrath and Eva (Schlafmann) Hobrath, Henry was born in Velimirowac, Croatia under the shadow of World War II. At the tender age of four, his life was marked with the indelible loss of his father, a conscripted casualty of Hitler’s war. Soon after, his newly widowed mother and her four young children were forced to leave their home. Overnight, their family story became one of displacement and uncertainty, but in time, also one of resiliency, perseverance, and God’s faithfulness.

By the time Henry was eight, his mother had scraped enough money together for the family to travel by train with a small group of refugees to Salzburg, Austria, where they crossed the border to an area of Germany controlled by the U.S. Army. He often reminisced about the incredible kindness of the U.S. soldiers that first took them in and transported them safely to a refugee camp. He would fondly recall, “That’s when I fell in love with Americans.”

After a couple years, they relocated to Schwegenheim, Germany. An area farmer, who became a lifelong family friend, took them in and gave them a home. During this time, his uncles and grandparents, who had also survived the war, joined them. These were humble, but happy times. Henry loved to tell stories of his youth in Germany, especially ones involving a bit of mischief with his brothers and cousins.

In 1956, when Henry was 16, they immigrated to America, and joined family already settled in Cleveland, Ohio. As a teen he began to deepen in his faith and commitment to God, which would guide him his entire life.

In the early 60s, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and became a naturalized citizen. After completing his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, he was stationed with the 4^th Infantry at Fort Lewis, Washington State. During his service, he was called to maneuvers in Alaska to protect the Alaskan pipeline. He was promoted to rank of Corporal and awarded several badges. He also became an avid ping-pong player during his time in the service and won several trophies.

After serving in the Army, he returned to family in Cleveland, OH where he worked at Richman Brothers Co. for a several years with his sister, Ernestine. In 1969 he moved to Upper Deerfield, NJ to work at his brother-in-law’s machine shop and learn the tool and dye trade, which would become his life-long career.

It was in NJ, that his roots grew deep. Through friends of the family, he met the love of his life, Irene. They were married in 1972. Their daughter, Janette, was born a couple years later. They built their first home with the help of family and friends, next door to Irene’s parents. Over the years, they often traveled to see family, and in turn often received family into their home. Still close to his mother, she would come and stay with the family for long visits. He was a truly loving husband and deeply caring father, with strong family ties.

Throughout his life, Henry gave generously of his heart and time to serve others. He was an active member of their neighborhood church (German Full Gospel Church, then Good News Assembly of God) where he served in many capacitates over the years. As youth leader, Sunday School teacher, Royal Ranger leader, Board member and church orchestra member and whatever was needed, he touched the lives of many. He was a helper to anyone that needed a hand and loved to encourage others. He enjoyed sharing his faith and life with others, and their home was always open to family and friends.

In addition to never passing up an opportunity for food and fellowship with loved ones, he had many favorite pastimes. He greatly enjoyed music, learned to play harmonica and accordion, which he played often at gatherings. He loved going to the beach (or the shore, as we Jersey folks call it) and strolling the Ocean City boardwalk. He loved learning friendly phrases in different languages, which he would often utilize to break the ice with strangers. He loved table tennis, bowling, camping, pine derby and various outdoor sports and yard games. He also enjoyed gathering around the table for a fun card game, especially a wild game of Spoons with his daughter and her friends from their youth group! He had a true fun-loving and playful competitive spirit.

After nearly forty years of living in New Jersey, Henry and Irene moved to Springfield, MO to retire near their daughter and son-in-law, and eventually, granddaughter. He became the very much loved Opa Henry. Family gatherings now included his favorite granddaughter, as well as his son-in-law’s parents and sisters and their extended families, who embraced him warmly into their fold. Here in Springfield, he also quickly endeared himself to a new church family and extended network of neighbors and friends. His gift of never meeting a stranger, made him fast friends everywhere he went—even into his final days.

It is with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to our beloved Henry, but our grief is made lighter knowing that we will see him again, one glad morning.

Henry is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Irene (nee: Demant); daughter, Janette Hobrath-Liddle and her husband, Nathaniel Liddle; granddaughter, Scarlett Liddle; sister, Ernestine Ziefle (nee: Hobrath) and her husband, Alfred; brother, Adam Hobrath and his wife, Helga; and sister-in-law Heidi. He was preceded in death by his father, Jacob Hobrath; mother, Eva Hobrath (nee: Schlaffmann) and beloved younger brother, Frank “Frankie” Hobrath, and  Sister-in-law, Joanne Hobrath.

Visitation: Friday, February 9, 2024, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM prior to services at Evangel Temple Church.

Service: Friday, February 9, 2024, 11:00 AM at Evangel Temple Church.

Burial Friday, February 9, 2024, 1:00 PM at Missouri Veterans Cemetery.

To watch the service via live stream here is the link:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=389361