Life Story

Henry “Sunshine” Wills

Henry was the sunshine of our life and our little buddy. He truly loved his family, his service dog Bailey, his teachers, friends, and his assistants. He was a very special boy with an infectious laugh. He loved to sing and always gravitated to songs with the word “Sunshine” in them, from “You are My Sunshine” to “Walking on Sunshine,” to his very favorite, “Sunshine on my Shoulders.” He was quite the artist, too.  Rainbows were his specialty.

Because of his medical issues, life was an adventure for Henry. He loved to label people and objects in unique ways--by color, though not by color of hair, skin, or eyes but by what they wore. There was Black Niki, Blue Jeff, and of course Green Dad and Blue Momma. He also gave unique names to his special objects and then would repeat them, so everyone knew what to look for when he misplaced something. He loved to do inventory of his special objects and wrote his name precisely them, so everyone knew that it belonged to him. 

School was truly Henry’s happy place. He loved all his teachers, helpers, and especially his special friends. Starting at a young age, Henry seemed to be quite the lady’s man. He never discriminated, for he loved them all and often gave out kisses on the cheek. He was always more than willing to do anything they asked of him, which was more than he would do for his parents sometimes! 

Henry had a great love of food and always shared with his dog Bailey. He especially liked foods that he could dip into sauces, most of the time the hotter the better. He was always up for a midnight snack or lunch out.

Henry was an energetic kid who was often a blur of non-stop action. He always wanted to be doing something and wasn’t much for downtime or sleeping. Whether it was watching videos on Momma’s phone, swinging on the back deck, riding his bike, or swimming with his teacher or his helper Anna or his Dad. He also loved to shop at Menards for his “Man Snacks”.  Maybe God told him that his life would be short, and he wanted to get in as much in as possible. 

Henry was known for wearing hats, not just to deflect the light from his sensitive eyes, but because he was a dapper dude. He liked surprising people with his choice of head gear—a vast array of tweedy newsboy hats, fedoras, and baseball caps that ranged from the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Stitch to Spiderman. That Spidey cap became a moving memorial at Henry’s funeral as it sat alone on the bench near the baptismal font that was Henry’s special spot at Sunday Mass.

We are still stunned that someone with so large a presence as Henry’s could be taken from us so fast. Henry will forever abide in the hearts of all of those who love and miss him. We hope that the joy and energy that Henry brought to life will live on through the people who have been gifted with his five organ donations. May Henry’s LifeSource become their bright and healthy future.