Henry Schick

Henry Albert Schick, 85, of Morrison, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at the Grundy County Memorial Hospital. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Reinbeck. Family and friends are invited to the visitation that will be held one-hour before the service. Graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. at Washington Township Cemetery in Morrison.

Henry was born on November 23, 1940, in Bayard, Iowa, to his parents Carl John and Erna (Fischer) Schick. The family moved to a 400-acre farm north of Morrison from Bayard in 1943. They then moved to Dinsdale, Iowa, in 1946 and then in November of 1947 the family moved into Morrison because their father developed a malignant tumor from which he died in 1948. Henry graduated from Reinbeck High School in the class of 1959. While in school he enjoyed playing football and basketball and was a very good student.

Henry started cutting asparagus for the Reinbeck Canning Company when he was in the fifth grade. He and his brother would hitchhike from Morrison to Reinbeck in order to do this and Henry shared that when he started out, he made two cents for every pound.

After graduating from high school Henry attended Wartburg College for one year. He then went to work at the canning company running a corn picker to harvest sweetcorn. Then he worked for Pioneer Seed for a brief time. In May of 1963 he enlisted in the United States Army. He took basic training at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri, and from there he went to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he trained for 20 weeks. He then went to Germany where he entered electronic school and worked on electronic radio repair. He was in the army 3 years and 2 of those years were spent in Germany. As a PFC he was head of a signal unit.

He bought a 1953 Opal car for $125, on which he put thousands of miles traveling the countries of Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. A highlight of his time in Europe was a music fest in Germany at which over a million people attended and he saw his neighbor, Dale Bowen, from Morrison, Iowa.

Upon his honorable discharge from the army, he returned to Iowa and began working at John Deere, from which he retired in August of 1997 after 31 years and 3 months of faithful service.

In 1983, Henry went to watch the Hot Air Balloon Championship after seeing pictures in the Des Moines Register. The next day he went back and bought his first hot air balloon, which was rainbow colored and he named “O’HENRY.” He then went to training in Indianola, Iowa. Henry flew over 600 flights with his balloons and in 1983 he won Best Crew of the Year Award. His brother Richard “Pup” was his crew chief. In 1997, by winning enough points in the Cedar Rapids Rally it put him over the top and he won the State Championship by two and a half points.

Henry was a private man. He had a quick wit and enjoyed his surroundings. He loved the outdoors. He would plant his garden, tend the flowers, mow lawn and do almost anything to keep his place looking well-groomed. He also loved his tomatoes and often planted an overabundance that he then gave away to friends and neighbors. His determination was equaled by no other. Henry was a very generous, loving and caring man and his family was very thankful to Henry for taking such great care of their mother Erna, while he lived with her during her final days of life.

Henry is survived by his brother Robert Schick; sisters Joan Fogt, Jean Newton and Lavonne Hougen; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers John, Richard, Carl and Earl; sisters Darlene, Pearl and Lois; and several nieces and nephews.