Marriages and Children

In 1939, Henry would frequently attend a church with the sole purpose of sitting on the back row with a group of fellows, just to watch the teenage girls. This particular evening, he was hanging out with a group of teen fellows at the church, and he got “hooked up” with Eva for a date. Henry didn’t like her at first because she was short (5’2”), and she was an unabashed Christian. She talked about the Lord all the time!

Eva would only go out with Henry when he went to wholesome places, like roller skating, or ice skating, or to watch a professional game. A couple of years later, one of Henry’s former drinking buddies became a Christian, and his life was forever changed. He had quit swearing, and he quit drinking. His buddy would get dates for Henry with Christian girls, so that they could all go on dates together. One day, he got a date for Henry with a girl named Eva. Ironically, the same Eva that Henry had dated before, but didn’t like. This time, however, the two of them “clicked,” as Henry shared.

“Eva was one of ten children in her family, and her family was on welfare. Eva enjoyed spending time with my mother, so she would come to my house and learn about cooking from my mother,” says Brandt. “She liked my mother." Henry and Eva continued to date for two years, and just after the beginning of WWII when Henry was about 21, they married. In the middle of WWII, Eva and Henry became the parents of a son, named Richard (Dick), and two daughters, Beth and Suzanne, who were born while Henry and Eva were at Houghton, New York. Henry was noted as saying, “I went in with one child, but left with three. After 42 years of marriage, the doctors diagnosed Eva with cancer. Twelve months after her diagnosis, she went home to be with the Lord.

About a year after Eva passed away, Henry’s path crossed with Marcy McKhilip. She was a mutual friend, who had been introduced to Henry via telephone. Marcy was in the business world, and was an executive secretary to a business man with a net worth of about 100 million dollars. She became disenchanted with all the things of living on a high social level, and came to know the Lord through the ministry of Campus Crusades for Christ. Marcy and Henry were married in July, 1983, and they partnered in the ministry for three years. While Henry was speaking at a men’s retreat in Birmingham, Alabama, Marcy was visiting with their friends, Sam and Mary Glen Peoples, and she was giving them her testimony of her salvation when she suddenly collapsed. Marcy had suffered from a brain aneurism, from which she did not recover. 

Ten months or so following Marcy’s death, Henry met up with Jo Anderson. Jo and Henry had met years before at conferences where Henry had spoken such as Arrowhead Springs, Forest Home, and Mount Hermon. Jo was not a widow when they had met originally, and Jo had spent time with Eva along with Vonette Bright at Arrowhead Springs. Henry was on his way to Africa when Jo reached him via phone to extend her sympathy concerning Marcey’s death. Ironically, Henry had been in route to Africa when Marcey was introduced to Henry via telephone. Jo and Henry were married in 1987. Jo had been a widow for twelve years and the mother of three grown children, Chris, Juliet, and Will Anderson, d. (2001).

Henry’s Detailed Biography

• Childhood Experiences
• Teenage Years
• Academic Training
• Entrepreneurial Ventures
• Ministry Involvement
• Marriages and Children