Henry “Hank” Sharpe, Jr., philanthropist and longtime president of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, passed away Friday in Maine at 99 years old, his family said Thursday.
Born in Providence in 1923, Sharpe was a graduate of Brown University and a Navy veteran of World War II. He took the helm of the well-known machine tool manufacturer at the age of 27, and led the company for nearly 30 years. Brown & Sharpe traces its roots back to the mid-1800s, when it was founded in Providence by Sharpe’s grandfather, Lucian Sharpe, along with Joseph R. Brown.
Now a division of Hexagon Metrology, at its height in the 1940s the company was one of the state’s largest employers.
Throughout his life, Sharpe was an active participant in civic and philanthropic activities.
He and his wife Peggy Boyd Sharpe were instrumental in founding The Public’s Radio, where he was a member of the board for many years. He also served on the boards of the Providence Journal, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, and Brown University.
“Wherever he touched the world, it’s better off for him having been a part of it,” Gerald Carbone, author of a book on the Brown & Sharpe company, said in an interview. “I think he was, at heart, a good man navigating an increasingly complex world.”
Elizabeth Delude-Dix, board chair and co-founder of The Public’s Radio, said, “Hank Sharpe made a profound difference in so many people’s lives in so many different ways. He will be missed.”
Sharpe is survived by his wife, Peggy, their three children, Henry III, Douglas, and Sarah, their spouses, and their five grandchildren. There will be a celebration of Sharpe’s life on October 2, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. at The First Unitarian Church of Providence.
