Henry "Hank" F. Guckes

Henry F. (Hank) of West Chester, PA passed away March 21, 2020 at White Horse Village.

He was the husband and dearest friend of Ida Ebling Guckes for over 50 years.

He and his identical twin brother were born in Philadelphia, PA and were the only children of the late Henry F. and Laura Oates Guckes.

As a child, he lived in Upper Darby and Pennington NJ, but at age 13 the family moved to Springfield, PA. Henry graduated from Springfield High School, where he played varsity baseball and basketball. He met his future wife Ida in Springfield.

His education continued at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received both a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering. From that time on, his career was in the field of Information Technology. He began with IBM, then Continental Insurance Company and finally Independence Blue Cross. His work as Senior Consultant with Allied InfoSecurity led to his nomination and selection as the Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia’s Technology Volunteer of the Year.

Hank loved life and all the opportunities and interests that it provided him. He was a lifelong Episcopalian and served as treasurer, discernment cochair and vestry member at St. Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, Malvern, PA. He was a board member of the University of Pennsylvania Engineering School alumni group and continued his affiliation with his college fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. He volunteered with the Darlington Arts Center, helping them with technology and served as a member of the board. As a member of the alumni group of the class of 1957 of Springfield High School, he found another way to reach out and stay in touch.

Two of his passions beside technology and family were golf and model railroading. His unbelievable train layout grew over the years and gave him and visitors so much pleasure. He welcomed visitors, both old and young for parties and gatherings to share his layout with them. He was a member of Hershey's Mill Golf Club where he played whenever he had the chance and where he met many wonderful people who became dear friends. He was an enthusiastic Phillies and Eagles fan and taught Dudley and Winston, his dogs, to try to sit quietly while the games were on TV. He celebrated his 80th birthday at Citizens Bank park with his name scrolling on the big screen.

He was so proud of his family- His daughters and son-in-laws Ida Virginia Finn (Ron), Stacey Helmers (Leo) and Dr. Alison Cook (Dr. Scott) and grandchildren, Zoe, Lainey, and Lucia Helmers and Maddux and Ezra Cook, along with step-grandchildren, Trent and Bram Cook, and he loved our family vacations together in Stone Harbor, NJ. He always remained close with his twin Albert and was happy for their close relationship. In addition, are so many nieces, nephews, in-laws and dear friends he loved in addition to, of course, his wife who will miss his love and concern, his generosity and sense of humor and wit.

A Celebration of His Life Service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Henry F. Guckes III Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund at Penn Engineering, by visiting the following link: https://giving.aws.cloud.upenn.edu/find-fund?program=ENG&area=SCH --- Type Henry F Guckes in the box under "Where would you like your gift to go?", and/or St. Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church 689 Sugartown Rd, Malvern, PA 19355.