The Reverend Henry Airheart Presler, 85, of Carrboro, North Carolina passed away peacefully on April 23, 2025 in Chapel Hill, NC.

Henry was born in Nainital, India on April 8, 1940, the son of Henry Hughes Presler and Marion Constance Anders Presler. He grew up in India, where hiking in the Himalayas was one of his favorite pastimes. At the age of 18, Henry moved to the United States to begin college at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, OH. It was there that Henry met his beloved wife of 61 years, Judith Louise Heiss.

Henry and Judith married in 1963 and together built a magnificent life and family with five children born between the years of 1964 and 1984. Early in their marriage, while Judith held her first teaching job, at Kansas State College in Pittsburg, Kansas, they raised cattle on their small farm nearby.

Always curious, Henry continued his studies over the course of his life, receiving a M.A. in classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was also a lifelong teacher. He taught philosophy at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also taught for many years as an adjunct lecturer in the philosophy department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

In 1983, Henry attended the General Theological Seminary in New York City and was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1986. The first church that he served was Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Warrenton, NC. Henry then moved to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Monroe, NC in 1988, serving there for 21 years. Known to his parishioners as “Father Henry,” he watched over the growth of outreach programs such as Loaves and Fishes, a food bank; Turning Point, a shelter for battered women; food service at the homeless shelter; special church services for persons with disabilities; and regular services for residents of a nearby retirement community. In 2009, Henry semi-retired and returned to his first church, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Warrenton, to minister to the parish until his full retirement in 2020.

Henry was a lifelong activist beginning in college where he was a civil rights activist and volunteered with Dorothy Day at the Catholic Worker in New York City. He and his family were active supporters of the United Farm Workers struggle with the grape growers. In the 1980s, he was a leader in the anti-nuclear movement in the Charlotte area.

Henry was a lover of ancient and baroque music. As a child he played the violin, and throughout his life he played the banjo and the recorder. At the age of 75, Henry and his wife, Judith, took up playing the trumpet and they both performed trumpet recitals in Durham, NC for many years.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his daughter, Quinta.

Henry is survived by his wife, Judith; children, Marion (Kenneth) Hirsch of Pittsboro, NC, Anna (Leighton Fong) Presler of Berkeley, CA, Henrietta (Cole) Locklear of Nashville, TN, and Jesse (Rebecca) Presler of Durham, NC; grandchildren, Sarah Hirsch, Franklin Hirsch, James Hirsch, Maria Fong, Molly Locklear, Annabelle Locklear, Lonnie Locklear, Cole Locklear Jr., Elliott Presler, and Louisa Presler; and siblings Marianna (Robert) McJimsey of Colorado Springs, CO, Franklin (Paula) Presler of Kalamazoo, MI, Wesley Presler of Kalamazoo, MI, and the Rev. Titus (Jane Butterfield) Presler of Enosburg Falls, VT, and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Henry was beloved for his willingness to listen, his mischievous spirit, and his never-ending interest in learning. He will be missed and remembered by many.

A celebration of Henry’s life will take place in the Chapel at Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church in Chapel Hill, NC on April 26, 2025 at 11 a.m.

Professional Services Entrusted to Boyd & Royster Funeral Services