Henry J. DeRoche died Tuesday March 5, 2013 in Natick. He was born in Egmont Bay, Prince Edward Island Canada and moved to Chelsea as a youngster, where he grew up with his 5 brothers and sisters. In 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was stationed in California as an airplane mechanic before being honorably discharged. After the war he and his wife, Madeleine moved to Connecticut and eventually settled in Stratford. Soon after he began a 31 year career with Sikorsky Aircraft. He served in a number of capacities including a model builder for the wind tunnel. In addition he became a personal friend of Igor Sikorsky and was frequently asked to complete special projects. After retiring from Sikorsky, he and Madeleine moved to Ellenton, Florida before eventually settling in at Good Samaritan Village in Kissimmee, Florida. While known as a devoted husband, he was also an exceptional and caring father of a son, Gerry (Concord, MA) and a daughter, Susan (Hopkinton, MA) as well as their spouses Kathie and Gary. He was adored by his two grandchildren, Michael and Daniel who eagerly looked forward to his visits and loved to help grandpa with all of his projects around the house. He was also known as an incredibly skilled and talented craftsman. Creating beautiful pieces of furniture was his specialty, but in fact Henry could repair and fix virtually anything. Henry lived a full and active life and passed peacefully from this earth with his family nearby 2 days short of his 101st birthday. Service: Services are private.