Henry H. (Hubie) Newhall of Peabody, MA passed away peacefully on June 28, 2024, at the Kaplan Family Hospice House surrounded by his loving family.
Henry was born in Salem, MA on March 4, 1941 to Ralph Austin and Evangeline Porter (Goodridge) Newhall, as the second of three boys. A life-long resident of Peabody he was known for his work ethic and for managing several newspaper routes throughout his teenage years in South Peabody. At one point, he was hiring neighbors and classmates as "subcontractors" as his business grew. As testimony to his character and commitment to doing things the right way his "paper boys" became loyal, life-long friends.
His family home on Lynnfield Street included a large barn, open farmland and fields bordered by train tracks that ran adjacent to what is now known as Centennial Business Park. He and his brothers (Dick and Hal) collected an assortment of old cars and motorcycles, using the open spaces on their property to test-drive their fixer-uppers. He also fell in love with pond hockey in the winter months and pick-up baseball in the summer.
He attended South Memorial School and Peabody High School, graduating in 1958. He captained the Peabody High Hockey team his senior year and was voted as the "nicest" in his class. It was during his senior year that he met his future wife Marie as he was performing a ballet dance routine in a school musical with some of his hockey teammates. They celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary this past May.
After graduating high school, Henry entered an apprentice program at General Electric in Lynn, which led to an invitation to learn how to program and operate IBM mainframe computers. While working full-time he attended Northeastern University evening program earning his college degree. This experience opened the door to a career in the banking industry starting as an operations specialist at Essex Bank in Lynn. During his 30 years in banking, Henry was selected to attend the school of banking at Williams College as he rose to senior positions managing regulatory operations.
At age 50, challenged to reinvent himself after the Bank of New England declared bankruptcy, Henry began his second career as the first full-time bookstore manager at St. John's Prep in Danvers where he worked for more than 20 years. By the time he retired in 2013, Henry transformed the bookstore into a modern space, streamlining book sales, offering contemporary logo apparel, and creating a local hub for student activity. In addition to developing friendships with many in the Prep community, he treasured the opportunity he had to work with his son, Michael also a longtime employee and alumnus.
Family and friendship were at the cornerstone of Henry’s life, he and Marie raised their only child Michael in Peabody, where he dedicated his time creating wonderful family memories coaching youth hockey and Little League baseball. They enjoyed vacations with family on Cape Cod and in Florida. He and Marie also enjoyed travel over the years throughout the U.S. and Europe with some of their long-time friends including the Broughton’s and Bonfanti’s.
Henry's most enjoyable role in life was as "Grampy" for Michael's children, Tyler and Hayley. As they grew older and got involved in sports and school activities, he found joy in watching them on the field or in the gym. He was most proud of their pursuit of education and watching them grow into thoughtful adults who have interesting and productive careers. Recently, Hayley and her husband Sean welcomed their first child, Connor. Henry had an opportunity to spend time with his great-grandson during Father's Day weekend.
Henry was a kind man, his family and friends will miss him, and we want to thank Dr. Jeff Odiet along with the caring staff at Brightview in Danvers, Care Dimensions and the Kaplan Family Hospice House. He was predeceased by his older brother Richard and his parents. Henry is survived by his wife of 62 years Marie and his son Michael and his wife Suzanne; his grandchildren, Tyler and partner Dr. Rachel Brown; Hayley (Newhall) Cullen and her husband Sean Cullen; and his great-grandson Connor Cullen. He is also survived by his brother Harold along with several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be on Monday, July 8 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn Street, Peabody, MA and all are kindly invited to attend a funeral service honoring Henry's life to be celebrated on Tuesday, July 9 at 10:30 a.m. at the same location. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Peabody. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association, MA/NH Chapter, 320 Nevada Street, Suite 201, Newton, MA 02460. Gifts can be made online at https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2024/MA-MassachusettsNewHampshire?px=19685753&pg=personal&fr_id=17661
or checks can be mailed to the chapter office.
