By Deb Gau

dgau@marshallindependent.com

MARSHALL — His career made him part of Marshall’s printing and publishing history. But people who knew Larry Henle said his family and the Marshall community were deeply important to him.

“He was very proud of the paper, very proud of his family,” said Russ Labat, a Marshall resident and a friend of Henle’s. “He was always proud of Marshall.”

Henle, a former publisher of the Marshall Independent whose family founded the newspaper, died Wednesday. He was 88.

A Marshall native, Henle’s career with the local newspaper spanned decades. Henle, his brother Ray Henle, and their father, A.J. Henle, owned and operated the Lyon County Independent, a weekly publication. Larry handled the advertising. The Henles sold the Independent to a company called Michelson Media in 1973, and after that Larry moved to Willmar to manage a weekly shopper newspaper. Larry came back to Marshall in the 1980s, where he was general manager of the Marshall Independent until he retired in 1994.

Labat said he first got to know Henle when he would sell advertising for the downtown clothing store where Labat worked.

“He was a great friend and a great mentor,” Labat said. Labat would eventually become publisher of the Independent after Henle retired.

“He taught me a lot,” Labat said. And even when times were hard, he said, “(Larry) always managed to keep a good attitude.”

Even outside of work, Henle was a lifelong part of the Marshall community. He was a member of Marshall’s noon Rotary club from 1986 up until his death.

“He rarely missed a meeting,” said club president Matthew Pedersen. “Larry’s faithful weekly attendance to meetings was not only a way for him to interact with longtime friends, it was a way he enthusiastically supported Rotary International’s ongoing fight to eradicate the polio virus. On many occasions Larry shared his own story about his childhood affliction with polio.”

Henle shared the Rotary’s ideal of “Service above Self,” Pedersen said.

Another area of service in Henle’s life was with the Marshall Fire Department. Henle was a member of the fire department for 25 years — and served 10 of those years as fire chief.

During Henle’s time as chief, the Marshall Fire Department fought one of the biggest fires in the city’s history, the 1974 blaze that destroyed the Schwan’s ice cream plant, Labat said.

“I know the fire department was an important part of his life,” former Marshall fire chief Marc Klaith said of Henle. While Henle had retired from the fire department before Klaith joined, Klaith said he was still part of the “one big family” of Marshall firefighters.

Henle and Klaith even had a bit of a friendly rivalry over who was the youngest when they became fire chief, Klaith said.

“He wasn’t a wishy-washy individual,” Labat said of Henle. You didn’t have to agree with him, but you always knew where he stood. “He was a very honest, open person, and very hard-working,” Labat said.

Klaith said Henle could sometimes be tough on people, but that was his way of pushing them to do their best.

“He wanted to make sure that you always did your best,” Klaith said.

Henle’s family was also very important to him, Labat said. Larry and his wife Barb would travel together, driving in the MG cars Henle loved.

“He and Barb had a wonderful life together,” Labat said.

Services for Henle will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Marshall. Visitation will be from 4-6 p.m. Sunday with a prayer service at 6 p.m., at Rehkamp-Horvath Funeral Home in Marshall. Visitation will continue form 9-10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home.