Henry was born in Dubberly, Louisiana, to James and Suzanna Richardson Holmes, who died when Henry was six. His father then married Ethel Miles. Henry worked in cotton and cornfields to help the family while his father was employed at a sawmill. Quitting school after the eighth grade, Henry worked for a company making creosote poles, and then entered the U.S. Army in 1943. He was stationed at Camp Beauregard in Alexandria, and then at two bases in Texas, Camps Bowie and Swift. Like many African-American soldiers in World War II, Henry was given janitorial work at those duty stations. Discharged in 1945, he married Mattie Taylor in 1946. He later married Zeffro Redix in 1968. Henry has six children, twenty grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Henry went to work for C.R. Cola Manufacturing Company, where he cut material to make furniture. He attended trade school, and later worked for TG&Y, where he retired.