Henry Line

Henry Line

Carlisle, PA

Henry Line died peacefully in his home on February 25, 2014, a few days after celebrating his 99th birthday.  Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1915, he was the son of Harriette Brenneman and James Harvey Line. He attended Carlisle High School and graduated Dickinson College in 1938 with a major in chemistry.  Even before leaving college he began a career repairing clocks, and shortly thereafter, watches, ultimately earning a reputation as the preeminent watch craftsman in the mid-state area.  Indeed, the Swiss-made watches that bore his last name owed their accuracy to a number of his patents that they incorporated and officers from the Carlisle Army War College often shipped their watches from around the world to him for repairs.  In May of 2013, Mr. Line was featured in a lengthy article in the Patriot News celebrating his rich career as a skilled watchmaker.

Mr. Line is survived by his wife Constance and step-daughter Peggy Sue Soutner (John); sons Henry (Joan Preble) and James (Judy Shugart); daughters Mary L. Bloser (Edward) and Linda Goetz (William); a sister Harriette Thompson (Sydnor); sister-in-law Catherine Line; eight grand children and 14 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Line also earned a reputation as a skilled pilot which had its roots in his work training pilots for the war effort in the early 1940’s. In the many years afterward he accumulated thousands of flying hours in his Staggerwing Beechcrafts and Seabee during flights ranging to and from Havanna, Cuba and the most remote regions of Maine and Quebec, Canada.  No fish was safe from those forays!

Of no less importance is the reputation Mr. Line earned as an advocate for animals, both domestic (he loved his Brittany Spaniels!) and wild.  Prominent among this advocacy were his efforts to save the deer in Carlisle that were threatened by the inexorable intrusion into their habitat.  Readers of the Evening Sentinel will long remember his good work in this regard through his many letters to the editor.  In addition, his advocacy for wildlife was expressed in countless ways through his membership in the Old Town Run Mountain Lodge, cofounded by his father in 1927, where he was a tireless champion of both the forest and its wildlife.

Finally, after completing a long day’s work restoring watches, Mr. Line frequently was a late night visitor to BPOE 578 where he cultivated reputations as advocate, philosopher, gentle curmudgeon, and all-around-good-guy.

It can be said that Mr. Line was a modern embodiment of the classic Renaissance Man, and a defining example of what it was to be a member of America’s Greatest Generation.  Inventor, craftsman, author, patriot, outdoorsman and advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves, Mr. Line will long be missed by family and friends alike.  A celebration of life will be held at a place and time to be announced by the family.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the animal support organization of your choice.

Arrangements are being handled by Hollinger Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 501 N. Baltimore Ave. Mt. Holly Springs, PA 17065. Online condolences to the family may be made at www.hollingerfuneralhome.com.