Henry Pelham was born on August 3, 1916. He was raised on a farm in Clinton County and attended Eden Country School No. 5. Henry continued his education at DeWitt High School, where he became interested in math and history.

Henry enlisted in the Navy in 1939 and served his country until 1945. During these years, Henry worked on fire control problems involving guns and was able to use his math skills to solve these problems. Henry returned home after the war to help his ailing parents on the farm. He married Helen Fae Benning in 1957.

At nearly 90 years of age, Henry stands behind his advice to students, “math is something you’ll need, get all the math you can”. In fact, Henry believes so strongly in the importance of an education in mathematics, he made a gift of $10,000 to the Central Community Education Foundation. Henry’s wish was to attend Iowa State University and become an electrical engineer, but he was never able to achieve his dream. His hope now is that his gift will enable others to live their dream and “get all the math” they can.

The Henry Pelham Endowment Fund will be used to enhance math education for students in the Central Community School District.