Obituaries

Henry Hale Bucher, Jr.

March 7, 1936 – September 18, 2025

Henry Hale Bucher, Jr., 89, of Sherman, Texas, passed away on September 18, 2025. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, October 3, 2025, at Wynne Chapel at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

The son of Presbyterian missionaries Henry Hale Bucher, Sr., and Louise Scott, Henry was born in Hainan, China, on March 7, 1936 (March 6 in China). His early years were marked by upheaval and resilience: after the Japanese invasion of China, his family relocated to the Philippines, only to be interned in a prisoner-of-war camp. They were liberated by American and Filipino forces at Los Baños. Henry spent much of his childhood in Asia, including four years under Japanese occupation during WWII.

Henry’s education began with homeschooling by his mother during the war, later continuing at Haddonfield High School in New Jersey. He studied at Davidson College, the American University of Beirut, University College of Ghana and the Sorbonne in France. He earned a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

A lifelong student of the world, Henry was rarely a tourist; instead, he immersed himself in cultures, histories, and communities. He worked, studied, and hitchhiked across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and beyond. His commitment to justice deepened after hearing the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., speak in the late 1950s. He spent years in West Africa, especially Gabon, where he directed Operation Crossroads Africa and met Dr. Albert Schweitzer at Lambaréné. In the Deep South, he joined efforts to register Black voters during the Civil Rights Movement—at a time when such work was life-threatening. He later opposed the Vietnam War, apartheid in South Africa, and U.S. involvement in the Chilean coup against President Salvador Allende.

In 1968 he married his first wife, Emily Orr Clifford and had his only son, Clifford Hale Bucher in Madison, Wisconsin in 1971, with both of whom he continued traveling and doing research for his PhD.

In 1985, Henry joined Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he served as chaplain and professor. He was well known for his fine tuned “pedagogical jeu de mots” (puns) and for leading students abroad to sites of deep historical and moral significance to cultivate their empathy and interest in social justice: the House of Slaves on Gorée Island, Senegal; Timbuktu and the Saharan desert; and post-apartheid South Africa, shortly after Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.

In 1994 he married Cathy (Cat) Wynne Garlit in Oklahoma, with whom he shared their parents’ missionary past and their dedication to social justice. They later celebrated their marriage at the top of Mount Sinai on August 10, 1997.

He authored numerous academic works and the book “Two Women: Anyentyuwe and Ekâkise” (Lulu Pub. 2014), and he shared his reflections as a columnist for the North Texas E-News.

Henry’s work was recognized with many honors, including a Ford Fellowship, a Fulbright/Hays Doctoral Research Abroad Fellowship, the Rotary International Award for Community Service, the Austin College Faculty Community Service Award, the Peacemaker of the Year Award (with his wife Cat) from the Dallas Peace Center, and the Austin College Excellence in Teaching Award. He was also named in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and several international academic directories.

Henry was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Priscilla Jo Bucher and Anna Louise Bucher Jones.

He is survived by his wife, Cathy Garlit Bucher of Sherman; his son, Clifford Hale Bucher and his family of Granada, Spain and his brother, Scott (Courtney) Bucher of Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

Henry lived with an unshakable faith in God and humanity, always looking for the good in people and working for justice. His life’s journey, rooted in service, scholarship, and compassion, will continue to inspire those who knew and loved him.