In 1900 the Proctor family moved from Grinnell, Iowa to Corning, Ca. Henry was born Feb 24, 1901 in Corning. In 1909 the Proctor family, now with 7 children, moved to the Central Valley of California to a farm. Henry attended local schools and worked on their farm. The high school was Hughson High. On September 16, 1926 he and Hope Shurtz were married in the Methodist Church in Turlock. Their first home was his ranch in Westport near Modesto. Their children, Dawna Hope 1927, Henry Wilbur 1930 and Cora Darlene 1935 were all born while living in the Modesto area. In 1932 they bought ranch land on Milnes Rd. and he, being a skilled carpenter too, built the house that became the "Home Place" where they lived and worked. Over the years it was a dairy farm with milking cows, raising cattle, or calves, growning corn, or growning grain. That neighborhood was a tightknit group of neighbors that were good friends and helped each other out. He was a Trustee for the Milnes Elementary School (a 3 room, 3 teacher, 8 grades school house) for the years from Dawna's 1st grade to Darlene's 8th grade. In those days, if there was a problem with some part of the operation of the school, the Trustees were on call to take care of it; whether it was that the oil furnace in the basement wasn't working on a cold morning, or the fence between the school yard and the property next door was down and there were cattle in the school yard! Henry had a good sense of humor and with his story telling, he would bring chuckles to any group. He liked to play harmless little jokes too. He enjoyed family and extended family get togethers, the mountains, the seacoast, playing cards and pool, and hunting deer, and pheasants, and fishing in the San Joaquin River -- always with friends, or Hope and the kids.
It was a special joy for him to be a part of his six grandchildren's lives too. Though he didn't have the strength to lift his 3 great-grandsons into the air above his head (like he had done with his kids and grandkids) he was thrilled to hold and get them to giggle.
Henry knew that he had had 83 very good years.