Henry "Hank" Joseph West was born on July 6, 1953, in San Francisco, CA. He attended Emerson Elementary, Saint Dominic's Catholic School, Benjamin Franklin Junior High School and graduated from Galileo High School, all in San Francisco.

Henry enlisted into the United States Army on February 14, 1973, at the age of 19. After basic training, Henry was assigned to the 317th Combat Engineer Battalion at Eschborn Kaserne, West Germany. The battalion supported the 3rd Armored Division for the defense of West Germany. He spent two years and eight months with the battalion before returning to the United States.  After spending three years and five and a half months on active duty he was honorably discharged on July 31, 1976 with the rank of Specialists 4 (E-4) at Fort Jackson, SC. Henry earned the Army Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal during his time in service.

While in the service, Henry attended City College of San Francisco through the Frankfurt American School in Frankfurt Germany to start his college education. Henry then entered San Francisco State University after returning home from his service earning a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science on May 19, 1982. While at San Francisco State, Henry was on the Dean's List for several semesters.

Henry entered federal civilian service as an emergency dispatcher for Federal Protective Service (FPS) on August 28, 1988, with Region 9 in San Francisco, CA. He worked in this duty position until 1995 when he transitioned into a federal police officer with FPS. Henry attended the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Uniformed Police Training Program, graduating later in 1995. Henry was deployed for a period of time in 2002 in support of the World Trade Center attack recovery. He remained with FPS until retiring on April 30, 2021, completing 32 years and eight plus months of faithful service to the citizens of this country.

Henry was a great law enforcement officer. One of his peers stated the following:

"He really cared about doing his job. He treated me with respect and answered all my questions that I asked him when I was new. He was like a living walking penal code book, he could tell about any law. He probably forgot more about law enforcement than most will ever know."

A son of his peer here at FPS wrote this touching tribute:

"Henry didn't have a lot of family, we became his family. He was there for birthdays, monumental events, and the regular weekend barbecues. He was a grumpy guy grunted a lot but if he liked you you got an extra grunt. He passed away a couple days ago. I just wanted to post this to keep his memory alive. Thank you for always having my dad's six while out on the streets. Rest easy may your soul be at peace Uncle Henry."

Henry was a no nonsense street cop. He backed his fellow officers whenever it was needed. You did not have to get on the radio and ask before he was on his way. Although he did not express much laughter at work and seemed serious all the time, hence the nickname Grumpy, he did provide us with humor at times. He was respectful of others and tried to assist wherever he can. He would not leave you hanging.

Rest in peace Henry.

Funeral Service will be held at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Road, Dixon, CA on April 11th, 2024, at 10:00 A.M.