Henry V. Rivers, known to his friends as Hank, passed away on October, 2, 2008 at the Cypress Glen East Nursing Home. Hank was born in Spencer, Massachusetts on May 29, 1927, the fifth child of Wilfred P. and Harriet Viets Rivers. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps when he was only fourteen. He later completed high school with a GED and began evening college courses. By day Hank worked on construction crews, and eventually became a master carpenter, specializing in the renovation of churches and other historical buildings.
In 1986 Hank left Massachusetts to join the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. He walked across the U.S. with this group for nine months, from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. It was on this march that he met Harriet "Ria" Lihs, a professor at Lamar University, who walked with the marchers during the summer of 1986. The couple went on several other marches over the next four years. They married in 1990 and Hank moved permanently to Beaumont.
Hank was known locally for his work with the Mended Hearts Organization, a service organization for former heart surgery patients. He served on the local ACLU Board, and was active in the Progressive Democrats, Southeast Texans Organized for Peace, the Beaumont Art League and Spindletop Unitarian Church.
In addition to his wife, "Ria" Lihs, Hank is survived by two children, Karen Adams and Bruce Strong; six grandchildren, Kyle and Tyler Romanski, Heather and Bruce Strong, Jr. and Conner and Tucker Adams and nine siblings, Mary Jane Alexander, Cecilia Dufault, Iona Lamothe, Ida Lizak, Beverly Gagliardi, Harriet Moore, Betty Lou Oard, Arthur Rivers, Donald Rivers, and Robert Rivers.
A memorial service will be held at Spindletop Unitarian Church, at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, October 4, 2008. Presiding will be Sondra von Gyllenband of the Unity Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Spindletop Unitarian Church, 1575 Spindletop Rd., Beaumont, TX 77725.