Henry "Hank" Passi

Retired USAF Col. Henry R. Passi passed away on Saturday, May 4, 2024.  He was born on April 2, 1932 in Brooklyn, NY, the blonde and blue-eyed only child of Finnish immigrant parents, Reino and Minnie Passi.   He was the only small child and the object of the affection of uncles and aunts until his dear cousin and life-long friend, Barbara (now Barbara Mattes of Austin, Texas) was born.   The family lived in a Finnish neighborhood in New York so tight-knit that little Henry spoke only Finnish when he started first grade.  He moved with his family and several other Finnish-American families to Cecil County where his father started a chicken farm on the property that would later become Henry’s beloved Eagle’s Roost Farm and Orchard.  Henry’s father built all the buildings on the property except for the sauna (a Finnish fixture) which Henry would build.

Henry graduated from Elkton High School in 1951, a part of the class which had the first 12-year school program.  At Elkton High he met Sylva Rebecca Reynolds who would become his wife for 65 years until her death in 2020.  A daughter, Susan, was soon born to the young couple.  It was a busy family as Henry was a full-time student at the University of Maryland while Sylva and he held down jobs and raised Susan.  In a few years, a son Craig and a daughter Eva would be added to the family.  (One wonders how he ever found time to make the Freshman baseball and soccer teams at the University.)

After college, Henry pursued his first career with the US Air Force.  He was an active-duty pilot for 25 years.  Henry was given 19 different assignments which caused the growing family to move often, living in places like Hawaii, California, Ohio, Florida and others but they always vacationed in Cecil County in the summer.  He was a sought -after pilot used mainly for flying VIPs, such as congressional delegations, Bob Hope and other troop entertainers and even Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and his wife while serving in Vietnam during the war.   His ultimate VIP pilot job came after the war when he became the personal pilot for Four Star General George Brown while Gen. Brown served as our country’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Col. Passi retired after a 30-year military career but did not slow down.  He and Sylva returned to Cecil County and the Passi family farm which Henry (Hank to his friends) purchased from his mother and converted into a peach and fruit orchard.  Over the many years he and Sylva were proud to have employed and mentored many of the youth of Cecil County in their orchard.  He relished community life, becoming a Rotarian and a member of the Maryland Agricultural Association and participating in many veteran activities.  He took particular pride in being instrumental in the annual Salute to Veterans celebration on the 4th of July and in the construction of the amphitheater of Harts Church.

Hank was always, as he would call it, a “sports-aholic”.  He was a season ticket holder for U of M basketball and attended many Oriole and Raven games over the years.  If it was a Maryland team, then Henry Passi supported it.

Many neighbors and friends came to Hank’s support after his wife passed away and his physical and mental powers declined.  Members of Harts Church made sure that he could attend Sunday services, a good friend drove him to Maryland basketball games and other activities and Patricia Wertz was a very special caregiver whose tireless efforts allowed him to stay on his farm.  Many others could be named and thanked but there isn’t the space.  As the saying goes, it takes a village.

This energetic and community-spirited man will be laid to rest next to his wife, Sylva, in the small cemetery overlooking Harts Church and the Elk River.  “On a hill far away.”

Henry was preceded in death by his mother Minnie, his father Reino, his wife Sylva and his daughter Susan (Klaus).  He leaves behind his son Craig Henry Passi of North East and his daughter Eva Dawn Passi Gustafson and her husband Del of Tulsa, Oklahoma, grandchildren Cole Gustafson and wife Jenny (Nashville, Tennessee), Seth Gustafson and wife Mallory (Fairhope, Alabama), Dane Gustafson (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Leif Gustafson (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Alison Passi-Kelly (St. Paul, Minnesota), Kaija Passi (Lisbon, Portugal), Caleb Passi and Ireland O’Toole (North East) and Zoie Klaus (Lansing, Michigan).  He has seven great grandchildren, Gavin Kelly, Oliver Gustafson, Nell Gustafson, Eliot Gustafson, Woods Gustafson, Goldie Gustafson and Willow Passi.

Visitation will be held on Friday, May 17, 2024 from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Crouch Funeral Home, P.A., 127 South Main Street, North East, MD.

Funeral services with full military honors, will be held Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 11:00 am at Hart's Church Amphitheater, 3203 Turkey Point Road, North East, MD, weather permitting.  In the event of inclement weather, services will be held in the church.

Interment to follow in the church cemetery.