William Barney McHenry, the former chair of the Boscobel board and a longtime Open Space Institute trustee, has died.
“From the very earliest days, Barney was integral in OSI’s creation and success,” OSI said in a statement. “Even as OSI grew and evolved, Barney —rarely seen without his signature bowtie — maintained a keen focus on his beloved Hudson Valley.”
In 2007, OSI honored Barney with its Land Conservation Award and established the Barnabas McHenry Hudson River Valley Awards. To date, more than 70 young adults have received McHenry Awards and stipends to work with nonprofits on environmental, cultural, artistic and historic projects.
McHenry, an attorney and Korean War veteran, retired in 2020 from the board at Boscobel, on which he served for 55 years. He had joined in 1964, nine years after the mansion was rescued from demolition and three years after it was moved to its present location in Philipstown.
Over the years, he also served as a trustee for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center, the New York Zoological Society and the American Museum of Natural History.
