SCARBOROUGH – Harriet Putnam Henry, 80, died Sept. 11, 2004, at Piper Shores, Scarborough, after an uphill battle with ovarian cancer. She was born Sept. 28, 1923, in Ashland, Ky., the daughter of Donald H. Putnam Sr. and Hannah Russell Putnam. She was a direct descendant of John Putnam, who arrived in Salem, Mass. in 1640 and of Major General Israel Putnam of Revolutionary War fame. She graduated from Ashland Senior High School, Smith College, and the George Washington University School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review and Order of the Coif. She was employed by the office of the quarter master general and the national security agency in Washington, D.C. After moving to Maine in 1958, she was involved in a variety of civic, educational and cultural activities, which included serving as president of the Portland League of Voters, chairman of the Portland Housing Authority, on the boards of the United Way, the Cumberland County Child Abuse and Neglect Council, Tri-County Child Care Coordinating Committee, Maine Status of Women Committee and the Job Corp Advisory Committee. She was the author of a four volume study on Maine Law Affecting Marine Resources under the auspices of the Sea Grant Programs and the University of Maine School of Law. She was a consultant of the State Planning Office and published Coastal Zone Management in Maine: A Legal Perspective. She chaired the Joint Action Commission on University Goals and Directions at the University of Maine at Portland-Gorham and subsequently served on the University of Maine Advisory Council and was a trustee of Westbrook College. In 1973, she was appointed to the Maine District Court by Governor Kenneth Curtis, the first woman Judge in Maine. She chaired or was a member of numerous Judicial Department and the Maine State Bar Association activities. She wrote the history of her court, The Maine District Court: Twenty-Five Years of Progress in 1987. She was a founding member of the National Association of Women Judges and was a board member of the Women Judges Fund for Justice, on the board of the National Center for State Courts and chaired the National Conference of Special Court Judges of the American Bar Association. She was also a member of the ABA Coordinating Committee on AIDS and the Bio-Ethics and law Coordinating Group. After retirement from the bench in 1990, she chaired The Commission to Study the Future of Maine Courts. She served on the Board of the Maine Historical Society, Sweetser, and Piper Shores. She was a Chair and member of the Maine Humanities Council, a member of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Elections and a corporator of Maine Medical Center. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Portland and served as a member of the Episcopal Diocesan Commission on Ministry and was chief judge of the Diocesan Ecclesiastical Court. She received an honorary degree from Bowdoin College, an honorary degree and the Mary Hartman Award from the University of Maine, Orono, and the Deborah Morton Award from Westbrook College. In 2003, the Maine Humanities Council dedicated the Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book in her honor. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Merton G. Henry; son, Donald Putnam Henry of Arlington, Va., his wife, Mary and grandchildren, Nicholas and Christopher; son, Douglas Merton Henry of Winchester, Mass., his wife, Laura and grandchildren, James and Sarah; daughter, Martha Sheldon Henry of Cambridge, Mass. and her husband, Mark Lamphier; a sister, Hannah Fox of Scarborough; a brother, Donald Putnam of Naples, Fla. and Ashland, Ky.; a sister, Betty Huebner of San Antonio, Texas; the wife of her late brother, Louis, Sally Putnam of Cincinnati, Ohio; and a cousin, Valonia Moore of Ashland, Ky. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004, at Trinity Episcopal Church, Coyle Street at Forest Avenue, Portland. Interment at Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the: Maine Humanities Council Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book, 674 Brighton Avenue, Portland, ME 04102. Arrangements made by Conroy-Tully Crawford Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, 172 State Street, Portland, ME. 04101.
HARRIET PUTNAM HENRY
