Foss was one of four children born to Norwegian immigrant parents, Andrew and Thea Foss, first owners and operators of Foss Launch and Tug Company. He graduated from Tacoma (now Stadium) High School in 1911 and went to work for his parents in the family business. He graduated from Stanford University in 1916.[3][4]
Foss piloted newly built ships for launching during World War I as the skipper of the tugboat Foss-Berg. During World War II, Foss was on active duty with the US Navy in naval intelligence. He served at the Naval Salvage School in New York, and became deputy fleet salvage officer with Commander Service Force South Pacific at Pearl Harbor. He retired with the rank of rear admiral and was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Navy Marine Lifesaving Medal.
While serving in the Pacific, he bunked with future United States president Richard Nixon, who gave Foss the nickname "Falcon" for his ability to locate poker games on different ships. "Falcons" eventually became the nickname for the Henry Foss High School sports teams.[5]
From 1930 to 1934, he served as state senator from the 26th District, was Pierce County Republican chairman from 1932 to 1934, and later served as commissioner for the Port of Tacoma. He was director of Pacific National Bank of Washington and in 1962 was elected as the bank's first honorary director, serving until he retired in 1971.[6]
References
^History (Foss Maritime Company) Archived June 19, 2007, at archive.today
^. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
^. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
^Thea Foss launches the future tugboat firm on the Tacoma waterfront in the summer of 1889 (Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History)
^. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
^. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
Other sources
Stork, Mike Foss Maritime Company (WA) (Images of America) (Arcadia Publishing: 2007)
External links
Henry Foss High School
This article about a politician from the state of Washington is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
henry, foss, sanctuary, character, sanctuary, henry, foss, september, 1891, april, 1986, elected, official, businessman, civic, leader, tacoma, washington, after, mother, that, famed, tugboat, annie, series, written, high, school, tacoma, washington, named, af. For the Sanctuary character see Henry Foss Sanctuary Henry O Foss September 5 1891 April 1986 was an elected official businessman and civic leader in Tacoma Washington It is after his mother that the famed Tugboat Annie series was written Henry Foss High School in Tacoma Washington is named after him 1 2 Contents 1 Biography 2 References 3 Other sources 4 External linksBiography EditFoss was one of four children born to Norwegian immigrant parents Andrew and Thea Foss first owners and operators of Foss Launch and Tug Company He graduated from Tacoma now Stadium High School in 1911 and went to work for his parents in the family business He graduated from Stanford University in 1916 3 4 Foss piloted newly built ships for launching during World War I as the skipper of the tugboat Foss Berg During World War II Foss was on active duty with the US Navy in naval intelligence He served at the Naval Salvage School in New York and became deputy fleet salvage officer with Commander Service Force South Pacific at Pearl Harbor He retired with the rank of rear admiral and was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Navy Marine Lifesaving Medal While serving in the Pacific he bunked with future United States president Richard Nixon who gave Foss the nickname Falcon for his ability to locate poker games on different ships Falcons eventually became the nickname for the Henry Foss High School sports teams 5 From 1930 to 1934 he served as state senator from the 26th District was Pierce County Republican chairman from 1932 to 1934 and later served as commissioner for the Port of Tacoma He was director of Pacific National Bank of Washington and in 1962 was elected as the bank s first honorary director serving until he retired in 1971 6 References Edit History Foss Maritime Company Archived June 19 2007 at archive today About Foss Henry Foss High School Archived from the original on July 29 2010 Retrieved August 28 2010 Award Recipients for Stanford Sigma Chi International Archived from the original on July 25 2011 Retrieved August 28 2010 Thea Foss launches the future tugboat firm on the Tacoma waterfront in the summer of 1889 Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History Henry O Foss Henry Foss High School Archived from the original on July 29 2010 Retrieved August 28 2010 Henry O Foss Henry Foss High School Archived from the original on July 29 2010 Retrieved August 28 2010 Other sources EditStork Mike Foss Maritime Company WA Images of America Arcadia Publishing 2007 External links EditHenry Foss High School This article about a politician from the state of Washington is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry Foss amp oldid 1071652861, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
