Obituary of Henry Martin Searcy

Mr. Henry Martin (Hank) Searcy, 83 of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, died peacefully, March 21, 2005 following a long illness. He was born on July 1, 1921 in Washington, D.C. to William Guy Searcy and Molly Lee (Faulk) Searcy, originally from the Ozark Alabama area. The visitation will be held from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M., Wednesday, March 23rd in the Chapel of Quinn-Shalz, A Family Funeral Home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Funeral services will be conducted at 3:30 P.M., Thursday, March 24th in the St. Andrews Lutheran Church by the Sea, 1801 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach, FL with Pastor Michael Blaker officiating. A reception will follow in the Homestead Restaurant. Graveside services will be held with Military Honors in the Morningview Cemetery, Ozark, AL at 11:00 A. M., Saturday, March 26th with Reverend Joe Reams officiating, Holman Funeral Home of Ozark directing. Mr. Searcy and his sisters, Sybil (Searcy) Abbott and Sarah Searcy, were raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended North Carolina State University until World War II when he enlisted in the United States Army. Serving in the South Pacific, Hank participated in armed combat with the Japanese forces in Bougainville, New Hebrides and Guadal Canal. Corporal Searcy was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action in rescuing a severely wounded soldier from an exposed position at Bougainville, Solomon Islands on 15 February 1944, "Braving intense enemy fire, Corporal Searcy made his way over rugged terrain to reach the wounded man. At one point during his return, Corporal Searcy had to cross a stream bed in full view of hostile riflemen and machine gunners, but in spite of the danger, they made the crossing safely although the Japanese laid down intense fire in an attempt to halt him. Corporal Searcy's outstanding courage and fidelity to duty were responsible for saving the life of a wounded comrade." Following WW II, Mr. Searcy was stationed in Camp Blanding, Florida, where he met Jacksonville native, the love of his life, Christine Marie (Braren) Searcy. On September 23, 1945 Hank and Christine were married in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Searcy completed his undergraduate education in pre-med at Duke University, and obtained his law degree at Stetson University. Hank practiced law as a preeminent trial lawyer in Jacksonville with a career that spanned five decades before retiring in the 1990's. Hank and Christine had six wonderful children: Inge (Searcy) Baker, now living in Jacksonville with husband, Scott and children, Edward and Chris; Chris Searcy living in North Palm Beach with wife, Priscilla and children, Henry, Christian, Debbie, Angela and Will; Eric Searcy living in St. Augustine with wife, Debbie and children, Alex, Matt, and Andrea; Helen (Searcy) Holmberg living in Jacksonville with husband, Eric and children, Heike, Chris, Blaine, and Sean; Henry Searcy killed in an auto accident on June 1, 1960; and Blaine Searcy living in Destin with children, Iain, Louis, and Kyle. His aunt, Grace Faulk Bratton,of Durham, NC; cousins, Martha Faulk Loftin of Ozark, AL, Mary Faulk Kaye of Chandler, AZ, Miriam Faulk (David) Dorsey of Opelika, AL, Chris McPhaul (Joe W.) Adams of Ozark AL, Barbara Searcy Wilkerson of Montgomery, AL, Marjorie Searcy (Miller) Williams of Birmingham, AL and also in the Ozark area, Sarah Marshall Mixson and Jane Marshall Lavender. Following retirement Mr. Searcy lived with his sister and best friend, Sarah Searcy, in Atlanta, Georgia. They were avid Braves fans and season ticket holders. In addition to his thriving law practice, Mr. Searcy served as a lay minister in the Lutheran Church, a classical music DJ, pseudonym, "beauregard"; campaign manager Estes Keyfauver, ran for State Senate, and was instrumental in his work with the Juvenile Center of Duval County in the 1960's. Known for his outstanding sense of humor, he was a champion of the downtrodden and spent his professional life fighting for those who were unable to fight Service Information