Farewell to Henry Branstetter: seafood industry pioneer, longtime consultant to QFFI, and a good friend of mine.

The sad news reached me after returning from an overseas business trip last month. Henry Raymond Branstetter had passed away on March 2 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was 94 years old, and left this world in peace and with dignity after battling a number of ailments.

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Henry's departure marks the end of an era, as the former president of Ocean Garden Products, Inc., was among the last true pioneers of the USA seafood industry. He was a first-class gentleman who always put people and relations first. Those who knew him have suffered a great loss.

Henry was a personal friend of mine and mused adviser for more than 20 years. He was a devoted reader of Quick Frozen Foods International since file mid-1940s, upon discovering a copy on H the shelf at a library in San Francisco shortly after getting out of the US Navy following the end of World War II. "The magazine is what introduced me to an industry that would provide a lifetime of excitement," he fondly told me on more than one occasion.

Henry later became a confidant of QFFI's founder, Ed Williams, and in the 1960s began contributing insightful articles about the seafood industry. As an expert in shrimp marketing, many of his stories concentrated on that subject. However, a thoughtful analysis of the former Soviet Union's at-sea fishing fleet was also pat of the prolific correspondent's large body of work. The world traveler filed dispatches from Japan, India, China, Europe and Latin America, as well as from the United States and Canada.

I first met Henry at a National Fisheries Institute Convention in Boston during the early 1980s, when I received my first real insight into what makes the global seafood industry tick. His lessons never stopped, as we stayed in touch over the years, often discussing the state of the shrimp industry in depth. His role as seafood consultant to QFFI continued unabated until illness intervened.

Born in Indianapolis in 1914, Henry was valedictorian of his high school class, received a full scholarship at DePauw University where he was an honors student, and was awarded an MBA from Stanford University Business School in 1939. He was a lifetime member of the Stanford University Business School Alumni Association.

Henry worked for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California, prior to joining the military in 1943. During the war, he was a lieutenant in the US Navy Corps.

Henry's first job in the frozen food business was with John Ingles, in Modesto, California, during 1946. From there, he went to Wilbur-Ellis in San Francisco, then the nation's leading seafood importer. In 1950 Henry married Frances Wayland mad became father to her two children, Suzanne and Ernie. In the same year, the family moved to New York where Henry became manager for the Wilbur-Ellis New York office's seafood division.

In 1957, he was recruited by Crest Importing Co., San Diego, California, the county's largest importer of frozen shrimp, to become vice president of sales and marketing.

In 1964, Henry was hired by Ocean Garden Products, Inc., San Diego, California, as president and chief executive officer. Over the next 14 years, he led the company to become one of the USA's largest and most recognizable seafood companies, specializing in imported shrimp from Mexico. During that time, he was instrumental in the merger of Crest Importing Co. into Ocean Garden in 1975.

After retirement from Ocean Garden in 1977, he formed the Cultured Seafood Institute, a public relations and consulting firm specializing in aquaculture marine products. Over the next 15 years Henry traveled extensively, visiting over 40 countries while assisting producers in efforts to market their products to the United States

Henry lived in La Jolla, California, for 50 years, and was a member of Rotary International for 39 years ha San Diego and La Jolla. He is survived by a stepdaughter, Suzanne Moss, and a stepson, Emie Wayland, both of whom reside in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Ernie, also a sage seafood industry executive who, like Henry, has contributed numerous articles to QFFI, was with his beloved stepfather at tile very end.

"When my sister and I decided to bring Henry to North Carolina last June, it was the best decision that we could have made because it gave us seven months of quality time with him on an almost daily basis," Emie told me. "We shall miss him very much, more than we could possibly realize. He was our mentor and our guiding light."

A memorial service was held in La Jolla on March 28 to honor Henry's long and fruitful life, followed by interment at Fort Roscrans National Military Cemetery in San Diego. Heroic selected the picturesque spot, overlooking the city and the harbor, as his final resting place. It is fitting that he rest in peace so close to the sea. Anchors aweigh, my friend. May smooth sailing take you on the last voyage home.

By JOHN M. SAULNIER, QFFI Chief Editor & Publisher