02/11/2023
Henry James Oliver, 71, of Springfield, Massachusetts, departed this life on Friday, January 27, 2023, at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, he was a son of the late Will Oliver and the late Inez (Ross) Oliver. Mr. Oliver was a fifty-year resident of Springfield, where he had been a truck driver for the former Strathmore Paper Company and the U.S. Postal Service. He also was a general manager for ten years at All For A Dollar. A member of Mission Church in Alabama, he attended Mission Church in Springfield, founded by his great aunts. He enjoyed playing softball and basketball and loved dancing, fishing, and card playing. Pre-deceased by four brothers, Herbert Oliver, Jessie James Oliver, LC Oliver, and Frank Oliver, he is survived by his wife, Dorothy Jean (Edwards) Oliver of Springfield; five sons, Henry J. Oliver Jr. of Athens, Georgia, Dwayne Oliver of Gastonia, North Carolina, Jamaal Click and Joshua Oliver, both of Springfield, and Leonard Williams (and wife, Amanda) of Nebraska; three daughters, Joyce Oliver, Dionna Williams, and Natasha Downie, all of Springfield; a brother, Jim Oliver of Florida; a sister, Recie Rose of Springfield; thirty-two grandchildren; nineteen great-grandchildren; his thirty-year life partner, Joyce Downey; and a host of other relatives and friends. The calling hour is 10-11 a.m. Tuesday at Mission Church, followed by funeral services at 11, with burial in Oak Grove Cemetery.
