Inga Henry

Inga Henry, the daughter of Edward and Johanna (Schewe) Zittlau, was born September 13, 1931, in Lonska, Poland and died July 2, 2020, at the Friendship Home in Audubon, Iowa at the age of 88 years, 9 months, and 19 days.

Inga was baptized in December of 1931 and later confirmed in Berne, Germany in 1946 in the Lutheran Faith. She attended school until World War II changed her life forever. Inga and her family, the Zittlau’s, were refugees of World War II and immigrated to the United States on January 7, 1952. They became U.S. citizens and settled in the Smithland, Iowa area.

On October 15, 1952, she was united in marriage to Jack Carlton Henry at the Lutheran Church in Mapleton, Iowa. They were blessed with six children: Randy, Ralph, Gary, Jon, Lisa, and Lori. They moved to Audubon, where Jack started his own painting business. Inga was a stay-at-home mother. She took good care of Jack and raised their children. Inga always had a large vegetable garden and helped feed her family with the delicious produce but always had plenty to share with the neighbors. She also had a beautiful flower garden to tend to. Later, Inga started her own business, the Hill Top Kennels, where she raised AKC Labrador retrievers and Yorkie puppies for many years. Through her business she met many wonderful people and made life-long friends.

Inga was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Audubon, Iowa. She spent her last four years as a resident at the Friendship Home in Audubon, Iowa with the tender loving care from their staff. Inga and her family felt truly blessed with the comfort the Home gave her, especially during these difficult times the past few months.

Preceding her in death were her husband, Jack C. Henry; her infant son, Randy Henry; her parents, Edward and Johanna; her sisters, Wanda and husband Eugene Heffner and Betty and husband Bill Rich; her brother, Bruno Zittlau; and her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Ralph and Sylvia Henry.

Survivors include her children: Ralph and wife Maria Henry of Iowa City, Iowa: Gary Henry of Audubon; Jon and wife Carol Henry of West Palm Beach, Florida; Lisa and husband Scott Dreier of Manning, Iowa; and Lori Johnson of Des Moines, Iowa; her grandchildren: Josh Henry of Columbus, Nebraska; Amy Henry of Carroll, Iowa; Vernon and Angelica Henry of Iowa City; Andrew Dreier, Jacob and wife Mallory Dreier, and Zachary Dreier, all of Manning; and Jenny Henry of Des Moines; her 19 great-grandchildren; her brother, Horst and wife Judy Zittlau of Sergeant Bluffs, Iowa; her sisters-in-law, Pat Zittlau of Seattle, Washington and Lorna Henry of Mapleton, Iowa; as well as nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

The family will meet with friends Wednesday morning July 8, 2020, from 9:30 A.M. until the time of the service at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Audubon, Iowa. Funeral service will be conducted by Pastor Gordon Buchholz on Wednesday morning at 10:30 A.M. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Interment will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon. The honorary casket bearers will be Judy Zittlau, Horst Zittlau, Shirley Shaw, Heather Chambers, Linda Bybee, Carol Wolff, Michelle Vesper, and Tonia Andersen. The casket bearers will be her grandchildren: Andrew Dreier, Jacob Dreier, Zach Dreier, Josh Henry, Amy Henry, Jennifer Henry, Angelica Henry, and Vernon Henry.