Henry L. Shipman (known as Harry since he was 2 years old) died on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 surrounded by his family in Hockessin, Delaware. Harry was married to Valerie for 30 years and was a father and stepfather to five: Alice (Steve), Tom, Eric (Rebecca), Jaimie (Heather), and Jeff (Megan); loving grandpa to Emma, Jack, Allie, Dylan, Logan, Quinn, Alex, and Finn; as well as a beloved uncle, cousin, friend, teacher, mentor, and more to many others. He was preceded in death by his sister and brother-in-law, Annie and Phil MacFarland.
Born in Connecticut in 1948 to Mary and Arthur, Harry was intellectually curious from the start. He participated in many school and after-school activities including drama club, where he helped build sets for plays. He could also regularly be found tinkering with various engines, happy whether he was behind the wheel or under the hood.
After high school, he received a Bachelor’s degree in astronomy and astrophysics from Harvard University and his Doctorate from California Institute of Technology, where he began his academic career as a teaching assistant in 1969. Harry was named J. W. Gibbs Instructor at Yale University in 1971, then became an assistant professor at the University of Missouri in St. Louis in 1973 before arriving at the University of Delaware, where he would spend the rest of his teaching career.
Starting as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy before becoming associate professor in 1981—and later the Annie Jump Cannon professor—his research activities at UD focused on white dwarf stars and the future life cycle stages of low-mass stars. Harry was the director of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at UD from 1988 to 1994, a role he deeply valued.
Harry had always taught science enthusiastically and creatively, incorporating group activity into large classes. While he had always valued the role of broader science education, his time at CTE marked a transition in the scope of his research interests to start including education research more formally. Sometimes these would be more traditional research projects, and other times they would be more unusual educational displays, such as the scale model of the solar system on the UD campus. (He was very proud of the fact that Pluto was never demoted in this representation of the solar system.)
A published author and NASA consultant, Harry educated the science-hungry public by authoring books such as Black Holes, Quasars, and the Universe (1976, 1980); The Restless Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy (1978); Space 2000: Meeting the Challenge of a New Era (1987); Humans in Space: 21st Century Frontiers (1989); Science, Technology and Society (1993); and The Way the World Works (1995). His early written works have been credited as being ahead of their time in terms of astronomical concepts and thinking, as he was known to encourage readers to forego accepted thoughts and theories in favor of embracing new ideas; one such idea being colonization of Mars. Another professional accomplishment very important to Harry was his role in the development of the Whole Earth Telescope in coordination with the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory in Wilmington.
Among numerous academic achievements, Harry was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1980; was included in the University of Delaware Mentors’ Circle in 2008; and was honored in 2016 at the University of Delaware’s Workshop on White Dwarfs & Compact Objects.
When not teaching, researching, or writing, Harry enjoyed ice skating, bocce, bicycling, nature walks, game nights, and travel. When he and Val moved to Cokesbury in 2015, they found a wonderful community for exploring a number of these interests. A piano player in his younger years, he appreciated all styles of jazz, but particularly ragtime and New Orleans style, which were especially fun for him to play. He kept a busy travel schedule throughout his life, taking time with his family to visit locales such as Costa Rica, the Florida Keys, New Orleans, the Cayman Islands, and Alaska. He and Val celebrated wedding anniversaries by traveling the globe to Australia and Japan, among other destinations.
After touching countless lives through his teaching, community life, and family devotion, many memories of Harry feature stories of intellectual curiosity, a passion for new experiences, and a zest for innovative ways of thinking. To those closest to him, he also leaves a legacy of kindness, gratitude, and an enduring sense of wonder, whether contemplating the vastness of the universe or marveling at a grandchild learning how to walk.
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