Obituary of Peter W. Henner

Peter Henner of Clarksville, NY died at home the evening of September 29 at the age of 64. He had been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma 3½ months previously, and fought through several nearly fatal episodes before finally succumbing. The doctors and other medical staff at Dana Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston made a valiant effort to save him. Peter was a well-known environmental and labor lawyer who was particularly interested in taking on corrupt corporate and governmental entities. Most recently, he sued Empire State Development for mismanaging the money designated for rural broadband development. For more detail on Peter’s career, see www.peterhenner.com. His soulmate and wife, Nancy Lawson, was with him constantly throughout his illness. Peter and Nancy had spent the past 27 years rock climbing, hiking, and skiing together, including hiking all the mountains over 4000 feet in the entire Northeast, backpacking the Chilkoot trail, hiking the Inca Trail, trekking in Nepal, and hiking every summer in the Canadian Rockies. Peter competed in many chess tournaments, including an international tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland. He had begun organizing local tournaments, including some at Proctors in Schenectady. For years, he wrote a chess column in the Altamont Enterprise. A memorial service for Peter will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany at 405 Washington Avenue on Sunday October 9 at 2 PM. If you wish to speak briefly at the service, contact Nancy Lawson at lawsonn@strose.edu. In lieu of flowers, donations in Peter’s memory can be made to the Adirondack Mountain Club (adk.org) or to Dana Farber Cancer Institute (danafarbergiving.org).