Birth date: Feb 8, 1981 Death date: Jun 18, 2023
Lt. Col. Allan Joseph "A.J." Henley, age 42, of Bellbrook, passed away on Sunday, June 18th, 2023, in Dayton, Ohio, after a three-year long battle with brain cancer. A.J. was born on February 8th, 1981, in Ft. Polk, Louisiana. H Read Obituary
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Conner & Koch Life Celebration Funeral Home
So sorry Michelle, Luke, Ollie and family. A.J was one of my favorite people as he was so interesting. He would make everyone around him laugh constantly. I have still never met anyone who could cook like him and will never be able to replicate his migas. Prayers for you and your family. He was a fantastic person. The best!
My fond memory of AJ was when we deployed together to Eielsen AFB, AK. It was a winter trip, and the temperature was 50 below. We decided it was a great idea to grill some steaks behind the hotel. As we trudged through the snow to the grill, we contemplated how this was all going to work. After throwing the charcoal in and getting it (hot?), we tossed the steaks on. We smelled the steaks cooking as we watched ice crystals form on the top of the steak. After a few minutes, we flipped them and marveled at how well our idea was working out as we saw the beautifully cooked underside, then frowned as it froze solid while the other side thawed and cooked. After a few more minutes we took the steaks off, plated them, and walked back inside with two fully cooked, frozen solid steaks. A little time in the microwave while steaming some veggies on the stove and we were ready to eat. AJ was a wonderful human being! We laughed and laughed as we ate our meal and talked about how fun and silly the whole experience was. He will SURELY be missed. A toast!!
There aren't many brief voicemail messages that you can still remember years later, but we will always remember AJ calling from the hospital when Luke was born to declare how much Luke weighed and how long he was, then yelling "BEAT THAT EVELENDS!" and hung up. It still makes me smile. Then, two years later spending Father's Day together as a team of pilots with their firstborn kids. AJ was so much fun! We were never up to his energy level, but always so touched that you guys never let us get too introverted- Henley's always got everyone together for a good time.
May you be comforted by the outpouring of love surrounding you.
Family Henley,My name is Mark Allard and worked with AJ at Big Safari. I've known him since 2016. At least weekly we spoke about retirement life, family, and some of his "great ideas" on the direction of how 645 could rectify world order. In some instances we would spend hours talking of his war stories and the realm of the possible. AJ really looked forward to the 2nd chapter and spending time with the family. I remember him as a calm, collective, and caring individual. This 3rd chapter came too soon and my thoughts and prayers are coming your way during this trying time. Big Safari is here for you in whatever you need. RIP Warfighter AJ, you will be missed!
Henley Family,My name is Erik, although AJ would have known me as \u201cBilly\u201d as those who know military callsigns do. I was AJ\u2019s neighbor in the office during his final stint in the Big Safari family, which so happened to be right as I was entering that family. I offer you my deepest condolences during this difficult time.My best memories of AJ were from right when I'd arrive at work each morning. Every time I\u2019d show up, he would excitedly turn around in his chair, itching to talk about his most recent experiences with his family. He truly had you on the forefront of his mind all the time. We were constantly trading stories about the joys of fatherhood and how we were teaching our kids about the next big life lesson they were learning at the time. Luke and Oliver are slightly older than our kids though, so I was usually the one taking the advice to heart. AJ had plenty of advice to give as a faithful teacher, and although we knew each other for only about a year, I will always be grateful for the awesome impact he\u2019s had on my life.We\u2019re watching you win up there AJ!
"Words, no matter how kind, cant mend a heartache". Unknown Sending my love and deepest condolences to your family. Fly High Cousin.
Many years ago when AJ was either still at the Academy, or had just graduated, he came over to our neighbors house, the Shaumbergs. My youngest son Dylan saw he was driving a Corvette and ran over to see the car! As he was admiring it AJ offered to take him for a ride in it, Dylan lost his mind and jumped in! I guess he was about 10 or a little older! It was the greatest thing to him!! That he would take the time for a little kid spoke volumes about his character!! Rest in Peace Warrior Hooah!!!
AJ was my copilot on my second deployment to the \u201cDeid\u201d in 2007. I can\u2019t really remember how long we had known each other prior to spending 70 plus days together fighting the good fight. We flew 19 combat sorties together for over 200 hours of flight time. We had quite a memorable time with our crew. We had to shut down an engine on multiple occasions during the deployment and AJ handled the emergency with ease. AJ was a great flying partner and even better friend. His wit and sense of humor was much appreciated by me and our crew on the long sorties. During the deployment, my wife had sent me a box of pirate toys and costume stuff in a cardboard treasure box. AJ was game and we took the stuff on our next sortie, after leveling off at cruise we broke out the pirate stuff and handed it out to the crew. We spent the whole flight talking on intercom as pirates and wearing the costume stuff. AJ found a fake plastic compass in the box and \u201cused\u201d it to navigate to our target zone. On another sortie, a \u201cFlat Stanley\u201d appeared in the cockpit to get pictures over foreign countries. AJ came up with the idea of making a girlfriend for Flat Stanley out of some of our mission paperwork and hilarity ensued. Not sure if he ever blackmailed Stanley with the pictures. AJ was always up for hanging out. He always looked forward to the end of our missions to go to the \u201cBra\u201d and get our three beers and hang out with the crew. Even after a 20 hour day, he had the energy to check on the crew and make them feel part of the team. Some nights he would want to walk the mile and a half in the desert heat to the Brit Officers Club and I wouldn\u2019t be up to it. He would try to shame me into going, sometimes he would win and sometime I would win. I wish I could go back and take that walk one more time with him. I will miss his distinct chuckle after a joke or pilot banter. During that deployment, my wife was pregnant with our first baby and AJ and Michelle were expecting Luke. We also had another crewmember that was expecting twins with his wife and all of the babies were eventually born within a week of each other. My daughter and Luke were born one day part a few months after we got back home from overseas. We talked quite a bit on that deployment about being new fathers and what it would be like. A year later we celebrated the four kids from our crew\u2019s first birthdays together that will always be special to me. AJ loved his family so much and I\u2019m convinced AJ never met a stranger. We love AJ, Michelle and their boys as family. Michelle, please know we pray for you and the boys every day. Fly High Brother!
